By Enyichukwu Enemanna
Emmerson Mnangagwa, President of Zimbabwe, has been sworn-in for a second term in office a week after being declared to have secured a majority of 52.6 percent of the votes during the presidential elections held on August 23.
His inauguration on Monday hands him a fresh five-year term in office in the disputed poll in which the opposition CCC has insisted was a “fraud”.
The 80-year-old who will clock 81 next week took the oath of office at the National Sports Stadium in the capital Harare, after being sworn in by Chief Justice Luke Malaba.
His inauguration ceremony was attended by the presidents of South Africa, Cyril Ramaphosa, Filipe Nyusi of Mozambique, and Felix Tshisekedi of the Democratic Republic of Congo.
Rwanda was represented by Senate President François-Xavier Kalinda.
The main opposition Citizens Coalition for Change (CCC) party refused to recognize Mnangagwa’s electoral victory, claiming that there was rigging and violations of the country’s electoral laws.
However, the opposition did not file a petition, arguing that Zimbabwe’s courts were captured by President Mnangagwa and his party, the Zanu PF.
The CCC spokesperson, Promise Mkwananzi, said the opposition dispatched envoys on a diplomatic offensive to push for fresh polls and would also pursue mass protests to force fresh elections.
Mnangagwa’s party, Zanu-PF also secured 136 seats in the 210-seat National Assembly.
This will be Mnangagwa’s final term as set by Zimbabwe’s Constitution.
Mnangagwa has been in office since 2017 when the country’s long-time head of state Robert Mugabe was toppled in a military-backed transition.
