Zimbabwe swears in Mnangagwa as new President

Zimbabwe's new president, Emerson Mnangawa

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Emerson Mnangagwa has been sworn in as Zimbabwe President in a ceremony at a packed stadium in the capital, Harare.

Taking his oath of office, the 75-year-old former security chief vowed to uphold the constitution of the former British colony and protect the rights of all Zimbabwe’s 16 million citizens.

The swearing in follows the dramatic departure of Robert Mugabe after 37 years of authoritarian rule.

The former vice-president’s dismissal earlier this month led the ruling Zanu-PF party and the army to intervene and force Mugabe to quit. Mnangagwa, who had fled the country, returned from exile on Wednesday.

Nicknamed the ‘Crocodile’ Mnangagwa is the second president of Zimbabwe since independence


Nicknamed “the Crocodile” for his ruthlessness, it was Mnangagwa’s driving ambition to take over as a leader which set off a bitter succession battle with Mugabe’s 52-year-old wife Grace, triggering the crisis that toppled the long-serving president, who resigned on Tuesday.

A former close Mugabe ally, Mnangagwa’s initial fall from grace appears to have been engineered by the first lady, who lobbied her husband to back her own political ambitions. It was the climax of a long feud between the pair over who would replace the ailing and increasingly frail 93-year-old leader. But, Mnangagwa’s dismissal alarmed the army, with the generals quickly moving in, staging a military takeover which brought him down within days.




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Michael Onas
Africa - Online Founder & Senior Editor Africa - Online.Com was founded by Michael Onas in 1997, in the years since the site has grown to become a world leader in African news sector, with millions of readers around the world and followers on social media.