Newspaper review: Mnangagwa to be sworn in Friday as Zimbabwe’s president

The newspaper review for Wednesday, November 22, leads with with the resignation of President Robert Mugabe's resignation after ruling Zimbabwe for 37 years among other stories.

This day reports that Shortly after the Zimbabwean parliament began an impeachment process to end Robert Mugabe’s 37-year rule in the country that he fought to liberate from colonial rule, the embattled president finally threw in the towel Tuesday, paving the way for his former deputy Emmerson Mnangagwa to be sworn in as the country’s new president.

Immediately the Speaker of the parliament Jacob Mudenda announced Mugabe’s resignation, wild celebrations broke out at the joint sitting of parliament and suspended the impeachment process, reported Reuters.

There were also wild celebrations in the streets of Harare, as cars honked their horns and people danced and cheered the exit of the 93-year-old ruler.

Mugabe’s resignation, which was with immediate effect, ended his 37-year-old grip on power.

Mugabe, who had clung on for a week after the military intervention last Wednesday and his expulsion from his own ruling party ZANU-PF, had in a letter he submitted to parliament said his decision to resign was voluntary.

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“My decision to resign is voluntary on my part,” the letter quoted by AFP read. “It arises from my concern for the welfare of the people of Zimbabwe and my desire to ensure a smooth, peaceful and non-violent transfer of power that underpins national security, peace and stability.”

The Guardian reports that The Senate yesterday said most retired state judicial officers in the country wallow in poverty and have been eating crumbs due to non-payment of their retirement benefits by state governments.

It was gathered that most of them are dying of misery and hopelessness, having retired from active service.The upper chamber, therefore, directed its Committee on Judiciary, Human Rights and Legal Matters to review the laws impeding the harmonisation of the processes and prompt payment of retirement benefits of all judicial officers in the country.

The resolution followed the adopted motion titled: The Plight of Retired Judges of State High Courts and the Need to Harmonize the Process of Paying the Retirement Benefits of all Judges of Superior Courts in Nigeria, sponsored by Chukwuka Utazi.

In his lead debate on the motion, Utazi, who represents Enugu North Senatorial District, said the bleak life in retirement of judicial officers in the state would compel them to take bribes, to safeguard themselves against the rainy day.

He said the development, if left unchecked, was capable of eroding integrity and the fight against corruption trending in the polity.In their contributions, the senators affirmed that the constitution had placed the salaries of federal and state judicial officers as a first line charge on the consolidated revenue fund to secure the independence of the judiciary.

Vanguard reports that no fewer than 105 persons have been confirmed dead in two deadly attacks in Adamawa State in the last 48 hours, with several scores of others sustaining serious injuries.

While 60 persons were killed by two bombers at a mosque in Mubi, early yesterday, morning, 45 nomadic Fulani herdsmen were allegedly killed by unknown gunmen at Kikan community in Numan Local Government Area of the state.

The twin bomb blast occurred in the popular Shiwa Mosque, located at Anguwar Medina, in Yelwa quarters of Mubi, the commercial nerve centre of Adamawa State.

Although eyewitness account said 60 persons died in the blasts, the state police command, which confirmed 50, also confirmed the 45 killed in Numan.

According to an eyewitness, the two bombers ran from two directions into the mosque at exactly 5:05am, yesterday, while Muslim faithful were observing the SUBHI (morning prayers).

The Nation reports that 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.

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

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.

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

Mnangagwa, 75, who fled from Zimbabwe in fear of his safety after being sacked this month, could be sworn in as

president later on Wednesday or on Thursday and is likely to lead ZANU-PF into elections in 2018.

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.

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

Punch reports that officials of the Department of State Services and the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission were involved in a showdown for over 13 hours on Tuesday when EFCC operatives stormed the home of the immediate past Director General of the DSS, Ekpenyong Ita, to effect his arrest.

Ita, who served as the head of the DSS from 2010 to 2015, had been invited by the EFCC for his alleged role in the arms scam involving a former National Security Adviser, Col. Sambo Dasuki (retd.), and other service chiefs who have since been arraigned.

The PUNCH learnt that while other security agencies had cooperated with the EFCC and released their officials for probe, the DSS had refused to hand over its own officials to the anti-graft agency for over a year.

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Following the refusal of Ita to honour a series of EFCC invitations, our correspondent was informed that the operatives of the anti-graft agency, armed with an arrest and search warrants, surrounded Ita’s home at 46 Mamman Nasir Street, Asokoro as early as 4am to prevent him from escaping.

Our correspondent was informed that at daybreak, the EFCC operatives approached the premises and presented the warrant to the armed DSS officials securing the building.

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Source: Legit.ng