ED: ‘I pledge to be your servant’
IF THERE was a job description for President of the Republic of Zimbabwe, it would match the CV of Emmerson Dambudzo Mnangagwa who became the second Executive President on November 24, 2017. He is very well prepared for the job. He is a constitutional lawyer, a former guerrilla commander and a prison graduate who served with distinction during the liberation war that defeated the Rhodesian regime of Ian Smith and brought independence to Zimbabwe in 1980.
He was the first trained military commander to enter the country, leading the first group of trained guerrillas to cross the Zambezi River into then Southern Rhodesia in 1964.
He was later caught after some sabotage activities in various parts of the country, and spent almost 10 years in prison, mainly at Khami. He resumed his education in prison, and completed his studies at the University of Zambia after release.
He was head of civil and military security during the last decisive stages of the war, in Maputo and military headquarters at Chimoio, and he was a member of the delegation that negotiated the independence agreement at Lancaster House in London.
He led the first civilian delegation of 23 party officials who returned to Zimbabwe in the first days of January 1980, and was responsible for the security of the party and president during the ceasefire and election campaign that resulted in Zanu-PF and PF Zapu winning almost all of the contested seats in Parliament.
He chaired the military integration commission that had responsibility for integrating the two armies of the liberation movement and the Rhodesian military.
He has been a Member of Parliament, a Cabinet minister, and a party leader.
He has served as minister of security, justice and legal affairs, finance, rural housing, and defence.
He has served as Speaker of Parliament and as Leader of Government Business in the House.
He has served on secret missions and public platforms, and interacted with heads of state.
He led the process of legalising the country’s new Constitution, and as Vice President, he initiated an innovative agricultural programme that resulted in a bumper harvest of maize this year.
He has served the party and Government, and the people of Zimbabwe, in all of these capacities.
This explains why he received a very warm welcome on his return home to take up the top job after the resignation of the firstExecutive President, R.G. Mugabe.
Arriving home on November 22 and ending 16 days of exile after threats against his life, he was in a seriously exuberant mood, using his humour and fulfilling his profile as a unifier.
He told the large crowd of people gathered outside party headquarters, to wild applause, that “I pledge to be your servant”.
He had been elected party leader (President and First Secretary) by the Central Committee, which is the top decision-making body of the Zimbabwe African National Union (Patriotic Front) between congresses, pending confirmation at the party Congress in mid-December.
“Today, this evening I feel so humbled that you have remained here at this Headquarters waiting for me, that you see me and I see you. The G40 cabal had captured the Executive in the person of our President, orders were now not coming from the Executive, but from the people outside the Executive to implement in Government and to run Government.’’
He paid tribute to the defence forces, thanking them for the manner in which they “have been able to manage this process peacefully, under the leadership of General Chiwenga”.
He thanked colleagues in the party “who systematically, constitutionally managed the process”.
“I also wish to mention the manner in which the Speaker of Parliament handled the process. He was under tremendous pressure from the powers that were at the time, but he stood his constitutional right as Speaker. I applaud him for that.”
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