Zimbabwe marks first independence day without Mugabe

Zimbabwe marks its first independence day without Robert Mugabe in power, with new leader Emmerson Mnangagwa vowing to hold “credible” elections and turn around the southern African country’s moribund economy.

Mugabe ruled Zimbabwe from independence in 1980 until last November when he was forced to resign under pressure from his party, the military and the street.

Presiding over Wednesday’s celebrations at the national sports stadium in Harare, Mnangagwa says: “My government has put in place measures for the holding of transparent, free, fair and credible elections.”

Admitting that the country’s economic crisis was causing “great hardship”, he added: “My administration’s focus is on the pursuit of investment-led economic recovery, job creation (and) poverty reduction.”

The celebrations come as the government fired thousands of nurses who kicked off a strike demanding higher pay on Monday amid growing labor unrest.

Mnangagwa, Mugabe’s former deputy and a veteran loyalist in the ruling ZANU-PF, is widely expected to retain power along with the party in the elections expected in July or August.

— AFP

Army General Constantino Chiwenga, center, arrives with his wife Mary at the presidential inauguration ceremony of Emmerson Mnangagwa in Harare, Zimbabwe, November 24, 2017. (AP Photo/Tsvangirayi Mukwazhi)