Zimbabwe’s former vice president to return home: aide

Harare, Zimbabwe | AFP | Zimbabwe’s former vice president Emmerson Mnangagwa will return home on Wednesday, more than two weeks after fleeing the country following his ouster by Robert Mugabe, his aide said.

Mugabe resigned as president on Tuesday, swept from power as his 37 years authoritarian rule crumbled within days of a military takeover.

“Comrade Mnangagwa is coming back today,” one of the former vice president’s personal assistants, Larry Mavhima, told AFP, adding that he was expected to brief the media after his arrival.

On Sunday, Mnangagwa was named president of the ruling ZANU-PF party in place of Mugabe, and he is expected to be sworn in as interim president of the country.

On Tuesday, the 75-year-old liberation war stalwart, who has close ties with the military which helped push Mugabe out of power, announced that he had rejected an invitation by the former leader to return home to discuss the political situation in the country.

He said he would only come back when he was satisfied that his personal security was guaranteed.