Former President Robert Mugabe has demonstrated that he is still a statesman by accepting his former deputy Emmerson Mnangagwa as Zimbabwe’s new legitimate president.
Mugabe sent a letter congratulating Mnangagwa on his victory at his inauguration yesterday with his only daughter and eldest child Bona Chikore.
He said he could not attend the inauguration because he was not feeling well and his wife, Grace, was in Singapore and was not well.
“His Excellency, Cde ED Mnangagwa, President of the Republic of Zimbabwe. Your Excellency, thank you for your invitation to me and my wife to attend the inauguration ceremony. My wife is not well in Singapore and also I am not well so I am sending my daughter and her husband to represent us. Hearty congratulations, R.G Mugabe,” he said.
War veterans spokesman, Douglas Mahiya dismissed Mugabe’s congratulatory message saying: “Mugabe understands the dynamics and politics of the revolution and he must stop acting like a spoilt child. He thinks sending his daughter to attend our President’s inauguration ceremony is enough…
“Bona is just an innocent girl child who is not into politics and her husband Simba is a foreigner to us; mukuwasha (he is a son-in-law).
“He knows the mistake he has made despite all what the new dispensation has done for him. He must first denounce his relationship with the opposition MDC Alliance the way he endorsed it publicly. His behaviour meant a lot to the party and to us as freedom fighters and going to the side of the enemy is unforgivable,” Mahiya told NewZimbabwe.Com
Mugabe’s climb-down after campaigning against Mnangagwa was, however, highly commendable considering h0ow bitter he was at being forced to leave office.
It was also unreasonable for Mahiya to expect Mugabe to attend the inauguration because of his poor health, especially after what Zimbabweans saw on international television when Mugabe was dragged by Jealousy Mawarire and Grace to address a press conference at which he endorsed Chamisa a day before the elections.
Chamisa has refused to accept Mnangagwa’s victory and has rejected the Constitutional Court ruling that upheld the victory.
He has launched a campaign to raised funds to pay his legal bill and to challenge the Constitutional Court decision at the African Commission for Human and People’s Rights.
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