His Excellency Dr. Emmerson Dambudzo Mnangagwa was sworn into office for his second term of office as President of the Republic of Zimbabwe by the country’s Chief Justice Luke Malaba at a ceremony witnessed by thousands of people and Heads of States or Representatives from the Southern African Development Community (SADC) on 4th September 2023 in Harare, Zimbabwe.
The swearing-in ceremony followed the harmonised general elections held on 23rd and 24th August 2023 in which H.E Dr. Mnangagwa of the ZANU-PF party was declared winner by the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (ZEC) with 52.6 percent of the vote against opposition Citizens Coalition for Change (CCC) leader, Mr Nelson Chamisa, who got 44 percent of the vote.
In his speech soon after taking oath of office, H.E Dr Mnangagwa thanked Zimbabweans for maintaining national unity and peace before, during and after the elections, saying this demonstrated that Zimbabwe was a mature democracy. He said he would be President for all, regardless of political affiliation, race, colour, or creed, and called for respect and unity among Zimbabweans.
H.E Dr Mnangagwa said that during his new tenure, his Government will focus on the fight against sanctions imposed on the country by western powers; continue to uphold the country’s constitution and maintain rule of law; nation building; development projects; maintain food security at household level; and service delivery, in rural and urban areas.
Natural resources would be used to uplift the lives of Zimbabweans through beneficiation and that the government will continue prioritising the modernisation of the country’s infrastructure in line with global trends. To this end, the government will move to rehabilitate the country’s major power plant at Hwange, and improve the health and education sectors.
The swearing-in ceremony was witnessed by South African President H.E Cyril Ramaphosa; Mozambican President H.E Filipe Jacinto Nyusi; Democratic Republic of Congo President H.E Felix Tshisekedi Tshilombo; Eswatini Prime Minister the Right Honourable Cleopas Dlamini; former Mozambique President H.E Joachim Chissano; former Zambian President H.E Edgar Lungu; His Honour the Vice President of Botswana, Slumber Tsogwane; the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Zambia, Honourable Stanley Kakubo; the Minister of Homeland Security from Malawi, Honourable Ken Zikhale Ng’oma; and SADC Deputy Executive Secretary Ambassador Joseph Nourrice. Local dignitaries included Vice President General (Retired) Constantino Chiwenga, former Vice Presidents Joice Mujuru and Phelekezela Mphoko, and former First Lady Grace Mugabe.
