Mr. Speaker, His Excellency, the President, Hon, Mnangagwa’s appointment as a second Executive President of Zimbabwe, was no surprise to many of us in this House after enduring some humiliating meetings. His Excellency, E.D Mnangagwa demonstrated His political maturity and I am saying his political maturity which he demonstrated particularly after nasty words were hurled at him in his presence but he kept his cool, he never responded; hence, I have to mention this. Those insults were a clear demonstration that he was the heir apparent and it came to pass. All said and done, Hon. Speaker, the man demonstrated his political maturity beyond no doubt in his inauguration speech to shun any forms of retribution and revenge after having been humiliated and insulted publicly. In support of his words, as I have stated above, here is a man who at one time described himself as soft wool; hence his words of non-retribution and also revenge.
Hon. Speaker, I think it is also prudent for me to describe in brief who Emmerson Dambudzo Mnangagwa is. Born on September 15, 1942 in Zvishavane then known as Shabanie and qualified as a lawyer. His Excellency, the President, Cde. Mnangagwa who is and was a close ally worked with the former President of Zimbabwe for over five decades. He is a senior member of the ruling ZANU PF party and served as the first Vice President of Zimbabwe from 2014 until his dismissal in early November 2017, which then prompted him to assume the presidency in November 2017, after the intervention of the Zimbabwe Defence Forces. He demonstrated his political shrewdness to all and sundry when he took over as the President to the disbelief of those who were opposed to it.
His Excellency the President, Cde. Mnangagwa was a guerilla leader during the Rhodesian bush war. He held a series of senior Cabinet positions under the former President of Zimbabwe Cde. Robert Mugabe. Nick named ngwena or garwe which describes his political shrewdness. Cde Mnangagwa’s parents were politically active and also farmers. His family fled to Zambia due to political activism against the white settlers in Rhodesia. Cde. Mnangagwa escaped a death sentence over charges of sabotaging a locomotive train in Fort Victoria then known, which is now Masvingo. He was tried under the Law and Order Maintenance Act and served a 10 year imprisonment. His lawyers who defended him during trial, J.J Horn of Scanlen and Holderness pleaded that he was under 21 and could not be executed. He was released and then deported to Zambia to join his parents. While in prison, he became friends with the former President R.G Mugabe and attended his prison classes after which he passed his O levels and A levels.
He trained as a guerrilla fighter in Egypt and China as part of the first group of ZANU leaders sent oversees for training. While in China, Beijing in particular, he attended the Beijing School of Ideology which was run by the Communist Party of China. His Excellency, President Mnangagwa, in Mozambique became a security chief for ZANU and also the assistant and bodyguard to the former President Mugabe. He also accompanied the former President to the negotiations that led to the signing of the Lancaster House Agreement which recognised the Republic of Zimbabwe. Cde. Mnangagwa became the first country’s Security Minister and led the Central Intelligence Organisation (CIO) in 1980 when Zimbabwe gained its independence from the British colonial rule. He also took over as the Chairman of the Joint High Command after General Peter Walls was dismissed. Having said that in brief, Hon. Speaker, I now refer to His Excellency’s inauguration speech.
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