Emmerson Mnangagwa to be sworn-in as Zimbabwe's new president by Friday at the latest

ZIMBABWE'S former vice president Emmerson Mnangagwa is to be sworn in as president by Friday at the latest following the official resignation of Robert Mugabe according to an official statement issued by state broadcaster ZBC.

Mr Mnangagwa, who fled for his safety after President Mugabe sacked him two weeks ago, is expected to arrive back in Zimbabwe today at 6pm, landing at the Manyame Airbase in Harare. President Mugabe resigned as Zimbabwe’s president yesterday, 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 but who became feared as a despot.

Following his sacking last month, Mr Mnangagwa fled to South Africa, amid fears that Grace Mugabe, the president's wife wanted to assume power and have him assassinated.  Larry Mavhima, an ally of the former vice president, said that Mr Mnangagwa, 75, could be sworn in as president later today or tomorrow even and is likely to lead Zanu-PF into elections in 2018.

President Mugabe, 93, 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 President Mugabe, who had led Zimbabwe since independence in 1980, was finally over.