Zimbabwe's incoming leader Mnangagwa returns home to cheers

Zimbabwe's former vice president Emmerson Mnangagwa, who is due to be sworn in to replace Robert Mugabe as president on Friday, arrived to a cheering crowd outside the ruling ZANU-PF party's offices in Harare on Wednesday.

Mnangagwa returned to the country earlier in the day, having fled for his safety when the 93-year-old former leader sacked him as vice president two weeks ago to smooth a path to the succession for his much younger wife Grace.

"I appeal to all genuine people of Zimbabwe to come together," said Mnangagwa. "We are all Zimbabweans ... we need peace in our country and jobs, jobs, jobs."

TRT World's Ben Said has this report.

His statement was received very enthusiastically by the crowd of supporters at the headquarters of the ruling ZANU PF party, as Zimbabwe's continuing economic crisis helped bring the downfall of Mugabe.

"We want to grow our economy, we want jobs... all patriotic Zimbabweans (should) come together, work together," he said. 

The country was entering a new stage of democracy, he said, adding "today we are witnessing the beginning of a new and unfolding democracy."

"The people have spoken. The voice of the people is the voice of God," he 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. 

"Welcome back, Our Hero"

The jubilant crowd of more than a thousand at the party offices in central Harare celebrated his first public remarks. 

Some carried signs with images of him, suggesting a organisation behind the festive turnout. Signs read "Our Hero, Our Hope" and "Welcome back, Our Hero." 

Another referred to the initials of his first names Emmerson Dambudzo, saying "ED for a New Zimbabwe."

One man hoping to see Mnangagwa, Godwin Nyarugwa, said he was "very ecstatic" and that "we need change in this country, change in everything" after years of economic crisis. 

Nyarugwa said he had several university degrees but no job, a common theme among Zimbabwe's well-educated population.

"We have to try him and see," he said of Mnangagwa. "If he doesn't come up with something, we need to change him as well."

Tumultuous weeks

Mnangagwa said he was in constant contact with military leaders during the tumultuous two weeks between his firing by Mugabe and his return to the country as the new leader.

He praised military and commander General Constantino Chiwenga "who have been able to manage this process very peacefully."

While speaking with his wife Auxilia by his side, Mnangagwa was surrounded by two circles of security agents, who appeared alert to any possible security threat.

After emerging from hiding in South Africa, Mnangagwa met with South African president Jacob Zuma and then flew to Zimbabwe in a private jet. 

What's next?

Now the focus turns to Mnangagwa who will be sworn in Friday as Zimbabwe's new president to serve Mugabe's remaining term until elections next year.

It was not clear what the 93-year-old Mugabe and his wife would do next. Mugabe, who was the world's oldest head of state, said in his resignation letter that legal procedures should be followed to install a new president "no later than tomorrow."

Zimbabweans woke up to the first day in 37 years without Mugabe in power. With some nursing hangovers, they looked over newspaper headlines such as "Adios Bob and Ta-ta President."

"I think this change of government is like a new breath of fresh air right across the country," said Patrick Musira on the streets of the capital. "Everyone was engulfed with excitement and they are looking for a better future, a brighter future with work."

Who's Mnangagwa?

Mnangagwa is a former justice and defence minister who served for decades as Mugabe's enforcer, a role that earned him the nickname "Crocodile." 

Many opposition supporters believe he was instrumental in the army killings of thousands of people when Mugabe moved against a political rival in the 1980s.

Mnangagwa's future steps

So far in the current political turmoil Mnangagwa has used inclusive language, saying in a statement hours before Mugabe's resignation that all Zimbabweans should work together to advance their nation.

"Never should the nation be held at ransom by one person ever again, whose desire is to die in office at whatever cost to the nation," Mnangagwa said.

In a commentary, the state-run Zimbabwe Herald newspaper stressed the importance of presidential term limits, saying Mnangagwa "has the best wishes of most Zimbabweans, at least today."

"Mugabe has gone but I don't see Mnangagwa doing anything different from that old man. This is not the change I expected but let us give him time," said security guard Edgar Mapuranga, who sat by a bank cash machine that was out of money.

'Mugabism'

Human rights activists warned that it will take more than replacing Mugabe to change Zimbabwe's fortunes.

"Mugabe the infrastructure, Mugabe the culture, Mugabe the ideology, Mugabe the system — what I prefer to call Mugabism — is still there. And we need to continue fighting," activist Maureen Kademauga told reporters in Johannesburg.

The activists called for free and fair elections to determine Zimbabwe's future. 

"The military works on orders," Dewa Mavhinga of Human Rights Watch said. "I believe they were given a command to be nice, to smile, for a while but we should not make the mistake of believing that overnight this was a revolution and everything is over."