South Africa’s President, Cyril Ramaphosa, is set to attend the inauguration and swearing-in ceremony of Zimbabwe’s President, Emmerson Mnangagwa, on Monday 04 September 2023.
The swearing-in ceremony will take place at the National Sports Stadium in the capital city Harare.
Ramaphosa’s office released a statement on Sunday evening announcing that he will travel to Zimbabwe for the Presidential Inauguration Ceremony.
He will be accompanied by International Relations and Cooperation Minister Dr Naledi Pandor.
Read the full statement below:
President Cyril Ramaphosa will tomorrow, 04 September 2023, embark on a working visit to the Republic of Zimbabwe to attend the Inauguration of His Excellency President Emmerson Dambudzo Mnangagwa.
The Presidential Inauguration Ceremony will take place at the National Stadium in the capital city of Harare.
The Republic of South Africa congratulated the government and the people of The Republic of Zimbabwe for organizing and holding the harmonized elections to elect the President, National Assembly and Local government representatives, which took place on 23 and 24 August 2023.
President Cyril Ramaphosa will be accompanied by the Minister of International Relations and Cooperation, Dr Naledi Pandor.
Last week, a prominent South African opposition figure, Mmusi Maimane, who is the leader of the Build One South Africa movement (BOSA), urged Ramaphosa not to attend the inauguration.
Maimane argued that by attending Mnangagwa’s inauguration, Ramaphosa would be undermining the Southern Africa Development Community (SADC) on the Zimbabwe elections.
In a previous statement, SADC’s Electoral Observer Mission (SEOM) said that the manner in which the Harmonised Elections were conducted “fell short of the requirements of the Constitution of Zimbabwe, the Electoral Act, and the SADC Principles and Guidelines Governing Democratic Elections…”
More: Pindula News