Zimbabwe’s Mnangagwa sworn in, vows to reduce poverty, fight corruption

HARARE: Zimbabwe’s newly sworn-in President Emmerson Mnangagwa vowed during his inauguration speech to fix the economy and battle corruption which was closely associated with his predecessor Robert Mugabe’s rule.
“Acts of corruption must stop forthwith. Where these occur, swift justice must be served,” he told a crowd of tens of thousands at his inauguration ceremony, promising to “create jobs for our youth and reduce poverty for all”.
Mnangagwa was sworn in as Zimbabwe’s 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, took the oath of office at the national sports stadium on the outskirts of Harare to an explosion of cheering from the full-to-capacity crowd.
He is known as “The Crocodile” for his ruthlessness and is accused of overseeing ethnic massacres and political violence. It was his driving ambition to take over as 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. When Mnangagwa was dismissed as vice president by Mugabe on November 6, it initially looked like he’d been outfoxed by the first lady, forcing him to flee the country. But the situation quickly turned on its head, with his dismissal triggering a military takeover and mass street protests, which ended with Mugabe’s ouster and Mnangagwa catapulted to centre stage.
On August 17, the Zimbabwean government issued an official denial that Emmerson Mnangagwa, who was vice president at the time, had eaten ice cream at a political rally. “For the record, the Vice President did not eat ice cream,” Information Minister Chris Mushohwe said. “Yes, there was ice cream. I ate it, many people ate the ice cream, but he did not eat the ice cream himself.” The denial was an attempt to quash reports that Mnangagwa had been poisoned by ice cream made at the large Gushungo dairy owned Robert Mugabe — who resigned as president on Tuesday — and his wife Grace.
At the time, Mnangagwa and the first lady were locked in a bitter battle to succeed the ageing 93-year-old president, with hostilities erupting in public after years of behind-the-scenes plotting.