HARARE ¨C Emmerson Mnangagwa was sworn in on Friday as president of Zimbabwe in front of thousands of cheering supporters at Harare¡¯s national stadium, bringing the final curtain down on the 37-year rule of Robert Mugabe.
Taking his oath of office, the 75-year-old known as ¡°the Crocodile¡± vowed to uphold the constitution of the former British colony and protect the rights of all Zimbabwe¡¯s 16 million citizens. In a speech, he said elections would go ahead next year and acknowledged there had been ¡°errors¡± under Mugabe.
He has hailed the ¡°voice of the people¡± during a dramatic ascent to power. But some wonder whether a man who loyally served Mugabe for decades can bring deep change to a ruling establishment accused of systematic abuses of human rights and disastrous economic policies.
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