Robert Mygabe(89)pledged "to observe, uphold and defend the constitution of Zimbabwe" in
an oath administered by Chief Justice Godfrey Chidyausiku, extending his
33-year rule
Robert Mugabe took the oath of office at a 60,000-seat sports stadium filled almost to capacity. Chief Justice Godfrey Chidyausiku bedecked him with a green, red, black and gold presidential sash and the gold chain of office
Previous inaugurations after elections since independence have been held in the gardens of Mugabe’s State House offices before small numbers of VIPs and invited guests. There was no official explanation why this event was made into a massive inauguration
In a typically defiant speech,Robert Mugabe, who was sworn in for another 5-year term at the age of 89, dismissed charges of voting fraud, vowed to press ahead with black ownership of white and foreign-owned companies and attacked gays
Note
Robert Mugabe has been sworn in for a seventh term in office as Zimbabwe's Leader(6th term as President and was first elected as Prime Minister in 1980)
The ceremony had been delayed by a court petition filed by his main rival, Morgan Tsvangirai, over allegations of widespread electoral fraud.But the Constitutional Court dismissed the case, declaring Mr Mugabe's re-election "free, fair and credible".
Robert Mugabe took the oath of office at a 60,000-seat sports stadium filled almost to capacity. Chief Justice Godfrey Chidyausiku bedecked him with a green, red, black and gold presidential sash and the gold chain of office
Previous inaugurations after elections since independence have been held in the gardens of Mugabe’s State House offices before small numbers of VIPs and invited guests. There was no official explanation why this event was made into a massive inauguration
Soldiers fired a 21-gun artillery salute as military
jets flew overhead. Musicians played for the crowds, many wearing the
regalia of Mugabe’s party, flags and cotton cloth emblazoned with his
portrait, some of it given out at the entrance gates. Hundreds of helium
balloons in the colors of the national flag were released at the
Chinese-built National Sports Stadium
Robert . Mugabe had declared the day a public holiday, businesses were closed and downtown Harare was virtually deserted
At the inauguration, elder African statesman Kenneth Kaunda of Zambia
sat with other ex-presidents as well as the current leaders of
Equatorial Guinea, Tanzania, Mozambique, Namibia and Congo. South
Africa’s President Jacob Zuma, the chief regional mediator on Zimbabwe’s
crisis, was on an official trip to Angola and sent his vice president
instead. Also attending was former South African President Thabo Mbeki,
the previous mediator for the Southern African Development Community, a
15-nation political and economic bloc that has supported Robert Mugabe
The main opposition party, the Movement for Democratic Change, did not attend the event, calling it “a robber’s party.”
In a typically defiant speech,Robert Mugabe, who was sworn in for another 5-year term at the age of 89, dismissed charges of voting fraud, vowed to press ahead with black ownership of white and foreign-owned companies and attacked gays
Note
Robert Mugabe has been sworn in for a seventh term in office as Zimbabwe's Leader(6th term as President and was first elected as Prime Minister in 1980)
The ceremony had been delayed by a court petition filed by his main rival, Morgan Tsvangirai, over allegations of widespread electoral fraud.But the Constitutional Court dismissed the case, declaring Mr Mugabe's re-election "free, fair and credible".
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