Opinions on Mugabe as Mnangagwa Inaugurated as Zimbabwe’s President
Former Vice President Emmerson Mnangagwa, who was fired by Robert Mugabe just a few weeks ago, has been sworn in as Zimbabwe’s new President, becoming the third President of that country. But while South Africa’s President Jacob Zuma thanked President Robert Mugabe for all he did for liberation, others like Botswana’s President have criticised Mugabe for […]
Former Vice President Emmerson Mnangagwa, who was fired by Robert Mugabe just a few weeks ago, has been sworn in as Zimbabwe’s new President, becoming the third President of that country. But while South Africa’s President Jacob Zuma thanked President Robert Mugabe for all he did for liberation, others like Botswana’s President have criticised Mugabe for not caring with his people. Watch videos below.
Crowds gathered at the 60 000-seat Zimbabwean National Stadium in the capital Harare to witness the inauguration ceremony on Friday.
When Mnangagwa arrived at the stadium, the crowd erupted with shouts and singing, cheering him. A handful of regional leaders also attended the ceremony, including the leaders of Botswana, Mozambique and Zambia.
Mnangagwa will serve as interim president until late August 2018, when Robert Mugabe’s term was set to expire and after that, the people of Zimbabwe are set to elect their next leader.
Organizers of the ceremony described it as a “historic day” for all Zimbabweans.
It was also reported earlier that Mugabe would miss the ceremony because he needed to recover from the recent “hectic events”.
“The former President needed time to rest after the hectic events of the week and a half that has gone by… He extends his good wishes and support to the incoming President,” Mugabe’s spokesman George Charamba told a Sputnik news agency correspondent on Thursday.
Meanwhile, South Africa also wished Mnangagwa well as he took his oath of office.
However, President Jacob Zuma did not attend the swearing-in ceremony as he was hosting Angola’s President João Manuel Lourenço, who was in the country for a State visit.
Instead, the Minister of Telecommunications and Postal Services, Siyabonga Cwele, represented South Africa.
“The President has congratulated Mr Mnangagwa and wished him well during their meeting in Pretoria on Wednesday, 22 November, ahead of his return to Harare,” the Presidency said.
President Zuma has also extended his good wishes to former President Robert Mugabe and emphasised that his contribution to the liberation of the Southern African region and the decolonisation of the continent, in general, will always be acknowledged and celebrated.
In early November, Mnangagwa was sacked by Mugabe as his vice president, in a move that led the country’s ruling party, Zimbabwean African National Union-Patriotic Front (ZANU-PF) and the military to intervene and force Mugabe to step down.
Two weeks ago the country’s military deployed armoured vehicles to the Zimbabwean capital city of Harare, confining Mugabe to his residence. After Mugabe failed to meet the party’s ultimatum to resign, it decided to begin impeachment proceedings, with the Zimbabwean parliament’s speaker announcing Mugabe’s resignation on Tuesday.
Listen to Botswana’s President Ian Khama:
“I don’t sympathize with Mugabe because he didn’t sympathise with his people.”
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In his letter read out by the parliament’s speaker, Mugabe said he was resigning to allow a peaceful transition and that his decision was voluntary. The news sparked a wave of celebrations across the country.
Source: SAnews.gov.za-Sputnik