South Africa’s Ramaphosa Attending Mnangagwa’s Inauguration On Sunday




Mnangagwa meeting Cyril Ramaphosa in Pretoria (Twitter)
Spread the love

HARARE – South Africa’s President Cyril Ramaphosa has confirmed that he will be attending Zimbabwe President elect Emmerson Mnangagwa’s inauguration scheduled for Sunday 12 August 2018.

According to a statement released by the South African government, Ramaphosa will no longer stopover in Zimbabwe but will attend Mnangagwa’s inauguration. Ramaphosa will attend Mnangagwa’s inauguration on his way from Zambia and the Democratic Republic of the Congo where he is on a working visit.

President Ramaphosa will hold consultative meetings with President Edgar Lungu and President Joseph Kabila, respectively. The visits form part of a long-standing tradition in the SADC region whereby newly-elected Heads of State pay courtesy calls on the leaders of neighbouring countries.

The government of Botswana has confirmed that President Mokgweetsi E. K. Masisi, and Former Presidents Festus Mogae and Seretse Khama Ian Khama will be attending the inauguration. However, if opposition candidate Nelson Chamisa files his challenge at the Constitutional Court as he has vowed to do, the inauguration will have to be postponed.

Chamisa has alleged that the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (Zec) manipulated the results in favour of Mnangagwa.

South African President Cyril Ramaphosa will visit the Republic of Zambia and the Democratic Republic of the Congo on Thursday and Friday, the Presidency said in a statement. The President’s spokesperson Khusela Diko said Ramaphosa would hold “consultative meetings” with Zambia’s President Edgar Lungu and Congo’s President Joseph Kabila.

“During the visits, President Ramaphosa and his counterparts will discuss bilateral cooperation as well as political and security developments in the region and continent,” the statement said.

Minister of International Relations and Cooperation, Lindiwe Sisulu; Minister of State Security, Dipuo Letsatsi-Duba, and Minister of Defence and Military Veterans, Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nqakula will accompany President Ramaphosa.

Ramaphosa is expected to address a Women’s Day event in Paarl in the Western Cape on Thursday morning before his departure.

On Sunday, he will attend the inauguration in Harare of President-elect Emmerson Mnangagwa of the Republic of Zimbabwe, the statement said.