AFP/November 30, 2017
HARARE: Zimbabwe’s Emmerson Mnangagwa
was set to be sworn in as president on Friday, marking the final chapter of a
political drama that toppled his predecessor Robert Mugabe after a military
takeover.
Mnangagwa, until recently one of
Mugabe’s closest allies, will take the oath of office at the national sports
stadium on the outskirts of Harare before thousands of supporters, dignitaries
and foreign diplomats.
Snipers took up positions around the
stadium amid tight security as jubilant Mnangagwa supporters streamed in, with
many dancing as music played.
“We are excited and expecting a lot
from Mnangagwa. We have been under a dictatorship for a very long time,”
23-year-old Sharon Mauyakufa said, referring to Mugabe.
“Mugabe is very old – we do not
expect that he will be punished for his crimes. How do you punish a
93-year-old? But his wife and others must be charged if they committed crimes.”
The former president, who ruled the
southern African country for 37 autocratic years, was ousted from office when
the military intervened after he had sacked Mnangagwa as vice president.
“We thank you our soldier,” said one
banner in the sports ground.
Mugabe is in increasingly frail
health and had been positioning his wife Grace as his successor, but the army
chiefs acted to halt the plan and usher in Mnangagwa.
State-run media had earlier claimed
that Mugabe may even attend his successor’s swearing-in – but later suggested
that after he and Mnangagwa talked about the inauguration, he agreed he “needed
time to rest.”
Mnangagwa also “assured him and his
family maximum security and welfare” for their future as private citizens and
“appraised him of preparations for (Friday’s) inauguration,” the state-run
Herald news site also reported.
Buses brought well-wishers to the
60,000-capacity stadium from the early hours of Friday.
“Come and be an eyewitness of history
being made, the historic ushering in (of) a new era and better country,” said a
statement from the ruling ZANU-PF party calling on people to attend the
inauguration.
Mnangagwa, 75, said this week that
Zimbabweans were witnessing “a new and unfolding full democracy“, though
critics say he is a ZANU-PF hardliner who gained power in a de facto military
coup.
He is known as “The Crocodile” for
his ruthlessness and is accused of overseeing ethnic massacres by the army in
the 1980s and the 2008 election violence when Mugabe was at risk of losing the
vote.
Ahead of the inauguration, the army
warned that criminals had been impersonating soldiers since the crisis to
extort money from the public and called on Zimbabweans to obey the law.
Britain, the former colonial power,
said it was sending Africa Minister Rory Stewart to the ceremony.
Regional heavyweight South Africa
said President Jacob Zuma would not be present as he was hosting a visit by
Angola’s new head of state.
Zuma praised Mugabe, noting “his
contribution to the liberation of the Southern African region and the
decolonisation of the continent.”
Mugabe had ruled since Zimbabwean
independence in 1980, exercising almost total authority to crush any sign of
dissent.
The majority of Zimbabweans have only
known life under Mugabe – the world’s oldest head of state – during a reign
defined by brutality, rigged elections and international isolation.
His iron grip on power ended on
Tuesday when his resignation letter was delivered to parliament, where MPs had
convened to impeach him.
Mugabe was last seen in public on
Friday and gave a defiant televised address on Sunday.
Neither he nor his wife Grace has
been seen since, though they are expected to be given protection by the government.
The main opposition group, the
Movement for Democratic Change, said it was “cautiously optimistic” that
Mnangagwa would not be as “evil, corrupt, decadent” as Mugabe.
In the week before Mugabe resigned,
military vehicles rolled down Harare’s streets, army generals made a TV address
in the early hours and tens of thousands of Zimbabweans demonstrated against
the veteran leader.
Zimbabwe’s once-promising economy
collapsed under Mugabe’s rule, and many hope Mnangagwa will push through
reforms to bring in investment.
Unemployment is over 90 per cent, and
in his first speech after being announced as the next president he promised
“jobs, jobs, jobs!” — AFP
NST/November 30, 2017
NAIROBI: Kenya’s Independent
Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) has set Oct 17 for the
court-mandated fresh presidential election after the results of the Aug 8
election were thrown out.
Kenyans will cast their ballots for a
second time in the fresh presidential election after the Supreme Court
nullified President Uhuru Kenyatta’s re-election during the Aug 8 vote.
Chief Justice David Maraga on Friday
declared Kenyatta’s victory “invalid, null and void“, pointing to widespread
irregularities in the electronic transmission of vote results.
The IEBC said Monday that there shall
be no fresh nominations, and the contest will only be between Jubilee party
candidate President Kenyatta and his running mate Deputy William Ruto against
the National Super Alliance (NASA) coalition’s presidential candidate, Raila
Odinga, and his running mater, Kalonzo Musyoka.
This locks out Third Way Alliance
candidate Ekuru Aukot who had said he would participate in the fresh
presidential election since it will not be a run-off.
IEBC Chairperson Wafula Chebukati
said the commission was revising the operational and procedural requirements
for the conduct of the fresh election, and would reveal details to stakeholders
in due course.
Chebukati added that the IEBC was
awaiting the release of the entire Supreme Court ruling on the successful
petition by NASA to annul the Aug 8 presidential election results to enable it
to identify areas which will require improvement ahead the fresh contest.
He called for patience among Kenyans,
saying the commission was committed to delivering a free, fair and peaceful
election. – Bernama-NNN-KBC
