Mnangagawa May Be Sworn In On Friday

Zimbabwe’s former vice president Emmerson Mnangagwa will be sworn in as president on Friday following the resignation of Robert Mugabe, state broadcaster ZBC reported on Wednesday.

Mr. Mnangagwa, who fled for his safety after Mr. Mugabe sacked him two weeks ago, will land back in Zimbabwe at 6 p.m. (1600 GMT) at Manyame Airbase in Harare, ZBC said.

Mr. Mugabe resigned as Zimbabwe’s president on Tuesday, a week after the army and his former political allies moved to end four decades of rule by a man once feted as an independence hero who became feared as a despot.

Mr. Mnangagwa, whose sacking this month prompted the military takeover that forced Mugabe out, was initially expected to land in Zimbabwe at 1130 GMT, Larry Mavhima, an ally of the former vice president, told Reuters.

Mr. Mnangagwa, 75, is likely to lead ZANU-PF into elections in 2018.

The 93-year-old Mr. Mugabe had clung on for a week after an army takeover, with ZANU-PF urging him to go.

He finally resigned moments after parliament began an impeachment process seen as the only legal way to force him out.

People danced in the streets of Harare and car horns blared at the news that the era of Mr. Mugabe, who had led Zimbabwe since independence in 1980, was finally over.

Some brandished posters of Mr. Mnangagwa and army chief, Constantino Chiwenga.