Mohammadi News Agency News – Features – Photo
MNA International Desk: Zimbabwe’s new leader Emmerson Mnangagwa told a cheering crowd in Harare on Wednesday that the country was entering a new stage of democracy following Robert Mugabe’s removal as president after nearly four decades in power.
Mnangagwa returned to the country earlier in the day, having fled for his safety when the 93-year-old former leader sacked him as vice president two weeks ago to smooth a path to the succession for his much younger wife Grace.
‘The people have spoken. The voice of the people is the voice of God,’ Mnangagwa told thousands of supporters gathered outside the ruling ZANU-PF party’s offices in the capital.
‘Today we are witnessing the beginning of a new and unfolding democracy.’
‘We want to grow our economy, we want peace in our country, we want jobs, jobs, jobs,’ he told the crowd, adding: ‘The will of the people will always, always succeed.’
Mnangagwa’s dismissal was the trigger for the army and former political allies to move against Mugabe, feted as an independence hero when Zimbabwe broke with former colonial power Britain in 1980 but later feared as a despot. He resigned as president on Tuesday as parliament began an impeachment process, after resisting pressure to do so for a week.
