Zimbabweans celebrate in the morning sun after President Robert Mugabe resigned in Harare, Zimbabwe, November 22, 2017. Photo: Reuters 

 

HARARE: Zimbabwe?s former vice president, Emmerson Mnangagwa, who is expected to be sworn in as president following the resignation of Robert Mugabe, will return home today, a ruling party ZANU-PF official said.

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.

Emmerson Mnangagwa. Photo: Reuters/File

Mnangagwa, 75, who fled from Zimbabwe in fear of his safety after being sacked this month, could be sworn in as president later today or on Thursday and is likely to lead ZANU-PF into elections next year.

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.

Robert Mugabe resigns as Zimbabwe?s president

Mugabe put an end to 7-year rule defined by brutality and economic collapse

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

He finally resigned moments after parliament began an impeachment process seen as the only legal way to force him out.

People danced in the streets of Harare and car horns blared at the news that the era of Mugabe ? who had led Zimbabwe since independence in 1980 ? was finally over. Some brandished posters of Mnangagwa and army chief General Constantino Chiwenga.

Speaker of parliament Jacob Mudenda is due to hold a news conference shortly.