Less than 24 hours after Robert Mugabe resigned as president of Zimbabwe it has been announced that the man he fired over two weeks ago will be sworn in in his place.

Mudenda announced on Tuesday that Mugabe had resigned just minutes before a debate around a motion to impeach him was about to kick off.

On Wednesday Mudenda began his press briefing by explaining the various constitutional guidelines that  exist to determine the trajectory the country could take in an event such as this one, as well as the processes that needed to take place.

According to Zimbabwe’s constitution in the event that the president dies, resigns or is impeached, the party which he represented must submit a nominee within 90 days, and once the speaker receives this nomination, he must ensure the president is sworn in within 48 hours.

Mudenda stated that the ruling Zanu-PF party sent him a letter advising him that its most authoritative body, the central committee, had met and decided that should Mugabe be impeached or resign, their nominee would be Emmerson Dambudzo Mnangagwa.

Mudenda confirmed that Mnangagwa would be sworn in as president this Friday. Details of the inauguration would be made available soon.

It’s a sharp turnaround for the man who had widely been tipped to replace Mugabe, but was fired just over a fortnight ago as Mugabe attempted to create space for his wife Grace to become vice-president and potentially succeed him.

Mugabe has led Zimbabwe since its independence in 1980.

Mnangagwa, who fled the country after he was fired, is expected to arrive in the capital Harare on Wednesday, via a military air base.

The country is expected to go to the polls in July next year. DM

Photo: Emmerson Mnangagwa UN Photo / Jean-Marc Ferré (flickr)