Howdy, neighbour
Hopeful nation gives ED a hero’s welcome as he jets in
The former vice-president of Zimbabwe, Emmerson Dambudzo Mnangagwa, paid a courtesy visit to President Jacob Zuma before heading back to Harare yesterday. Both leaders paid tribute to former president Robert Mugabe and acknowledged his immense contribution to the struggle for the decolonisation of the continent and the liberation of southern Africa in particular.
EMMERSON Dambudzo Mnangagwa, who will be sworn in as Zimbabwe’s new president tomorrow, has hit the ground running as he prepares to take over from former leader Robert Mugabe, who was forced to resign in the midst of an impeachment process on Tuesday.
Man-of-the-moment Mnangagwa, popularly known in Zimbabwe as Ngwenya (crocodile) or ED (short for Emmerson Dambudzo), earlier yesterday sent the clearest indication yet that he is ready to take over when he met President Jacob Zuma in Pretoria before jetting home to Harare to a hero’s welcome amid pomp and fanfare across South Africa’s northern neighbour.
Last night Mnangagwa revealed in a televised speech – his first as Zanu-PF leader – that he had met Zuma for one-and-a-half hours, and also received messages from African statesmen and leaders, including former Tanzanian president Jakaya Kikwete, informing him that they were proud of how Zimbabweans had handled the political situation that saw Mugabe forced out of power.
He added that he would make his formal speech tomorrow “around 10am”. He said parliamentary Speaker Jacob Mudenda had been “under intense pressure to derail this process (impeachment). But the will of the people will always prevail,” Mnangagwa said to applause.
“I wish to commend the Speaker for the manner in which he handled this process and defended the constitution. He was under under intense pressure from those that wanted to derail it,” he said.
Breaking into his mother tongue Karanga, Mnangagwa took a jibe at Mugabe and his cabal for failing to heed the warning from the people to step down. He chanted “pasi nemhandu!” ( down with the enemy), his popular war cry, derived from Zimbabwe’s Struggle years in the 1970s.
Mnangagwa also revealed that he had been in constant touch with the army chiefs, who had kept him abreast of the developments back home.
“I appeal to all genuine, patriotic Zimbabweans to come together, work together to build a new Zimbabwe. No one is more important than the other, we are all Zimbabweans. It’s time to grow our economy. We want peace in our country, we want jobs, jobs, jobs,” promised Mnangagwa.
The Star understands that a Zanu-PF politburo meeting – Mnangagwa’s first as party leader – was scheduled for last night to map the way forward for Zimbabwe after the end of the traumatic Mugabe era, which lasted 37 years and brought the country’s economy to its knees.
But while Mnangagwa paid a courtesy call on Zuma, the ANC described the removal of Mugabe as a coup.
ANC secretary-general Gwede Mantashe said Mugabe’s political demise was a result of an overthrow of the government engineered by the military – a coup, whatever the language used by his detractors.
On Sunday, Zanu-PF took a resolution to nominate Mnangagwa to replace Mugabe as president of Zimbabwe, spokesperson Simon Khaya Moyo said.
Yesterday, Mudenda said: “I have received a letter from Zanu-PF advising me of their decision taken on November 19 that Emmerson Dambudzo Mnangagwa is their nominee to fill the vacancy of the office of president of the Republic of Zimbabwe.
“Parliament has thus notified the chief secretary of the president, Misheck Sibanda, to make the necessary arrangements for the swearing-in of the incoming president, Emmerson Mnangagwa, on Friday,” said Mudenda.
Mnangagwa, who was fired by Mugabe on November 6 after several public run-ins with former first lady Grace Mugabe, her husband and a faction of the ruling Zanu-PF called G40 (Generation 40), was initially set to land at Manyame air base in Harare at 1pm yesterday. Crowds, chanting slogans and singing, and others playing rebel musician Jay Prayzah’s hit song Kutonga Kwaro – now somewhat of a national anthem – made their way to the party’s offices, only to be made to wait for hours before Mnangagwa, 75, finally arrived after 7pm.
But amid the euphoria, some analysts warn that Zimbabwe won’t be turned around overnight.
Former deputy prime minister in the government of national unity Arthur Mutambara warned: “In addition to fighting against Mugabe, the dictator, we have also been fighting to dismantle the system, values and culture that he has bequeathed us – Mugabeism. Yesterday we defeated Mugabe the person, but Mugabeism remains intact. We have work to do.”
The will of the people will always prevail