Zimbabwe | AFP | Local residents in the rural Zimbabwean village where Robert Mugabe was born, got married, and has a house say he was a great leader — but express sorrowful acceptance rather than anger at his ousting. Kutama, 55 miles (90 kilometres) outside the capital Harare, has been …
Read More »Mnangagwa sworn in as Zimbabwe president
Harare, Zimbabwe | AFP | Emmerson 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 …
Read More »From Myanmar to Zimbabwe, China’s global footprint grows
Beijing, China | AFP | China has traditionally rejected US-style interventionism, but its deepening economic involvement in volatile countries like Myanmar and Zimbabwe is thrusting Beijing towards a more assertive global role, analysts say. China’s foreign policy has been guided by its principle of “non-interference in other countries’ internal affairs”, …
Read More »Mnangagwa to be sworn in as Zimbabwe president
Harare, Zimbabwe | AFP | Zimbabwe’s Emmerson Mnangagwa was set to be sworn in as president on today, 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 …
Read More »A ray of hope for Zimbabwe’s ruined economy?
Harare, Zimbabwe | AFP | Every time Chareka Mutungwazi, 76, tries to collect his pension money, he spends the night, like scores of others, sleeping outside a bank in Harare, the Zimbabwean capital. He is lucky if he is allowed to take out just $20 of his monthly $63 (53 …
Read More »Zimbabwe’s Mnangagwa: key dates
Harare, Zimbabwe | AFP | Emmerson Mnangagwa, who will be inaugurated on Friday as Zimbabwe’s next president, is a political veteran and party hardliner who for decades worked closely with Robert Mugabe. Here are key dates in his career: – September 15, 1942: Born in the British colony of Southern Rhodesia …
Read More »Zimbabwe’s ‘Crocodile’ to snap up the top job
Harare, Zimbabwe | AFP | Nicknamed “the Crocodile” for his ruthlessness, Emmerson Mnangagwa who will take over as Zimbabwe’s next president, is a hardliner with ties to the military who could prove as authoritarian as his mentor Robert Mugabe. It was his political ambition to take over which set off …
Read More »Mnangagwa: More of the same for suffering Zimbabwe?
Harare, Zimbabwe | AFP | Even before Robert Mugabe’s resignation, many Zimbabweans tempered their yearning for his downfall with the knowledge that his likely successor has a similar reputation for brutality and corruption. Emmerson Mnangagwa, who until recently was one of Mugabe’s longest-serving and closest allies, will be sworn in …
Read More »Zimbabwe’s next leader says post-Mugabe era is ‘full democracy’
Harare, Zimbabwe | AFP | Zimbabwe’s incoming president Emmerson Mnangagwa told adoring crowds in Harare on Wednesday that they were witnessing “unfolding full democracy” as he returned to take power after Robert Mugabe stepped down after 37 years in power. It was his first public speech since Mugabe fired him …
Read More »Why push is increasingly shove in African regime change
Dakar, Senegal | AFP | Regime change in Africa may not guarantee greater democracy but, as Robert Mugabe’s downfall shows, patience for autocrats who overstay their welcome is wearing ever thinner, experts say. After 37 years of outmanoeuvring his political enemies, Mugabe was finally cornered on Tuesday and handed in …
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