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Tsvangirai takes office
Zimbabwe's opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai was sworn in as prime minister, joining President Robert Mugabe in a unity government after a decade of struggling to push him from power.
'I will well and truly serve Zimbabwe in the office of prime minister,' Tsvangirai said as he took his oath of office from Mugabe under a white tent in the lawn of the presidential mansion.
Former South African president Thabo Mbeki, who mediated in the power-sharing talks, attended the ceremony along with Mozambican President Armando Guebuza and Swazi King Mswati III.
After the swearing-in, Tsvangirai planned to address his supporters in a stadium, with a speech that will celebrate but also need to reassure.
Tsvangirai's decision to bring his Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) into the unity government has raised doubts overseas and sparked fierce debate within his own party.
The former trade union leader is all too aware of the concerns that he, like earlier Mugabe rivals, could be swallowed into the long-ruling ZANU-PF party without changing the course of a nation that is by any measure disintegrating.
'The sceptics must understand why we have done this and what is the best course of action to address the questions and challenges of transition in this political environment,' Tsvangirai said on the eve of his swearing-in.
'We have made this decision and we made it without being forced. We want our colleagues in the country and outside the country to approach it from that perspective. It is our decision. Let history be the judge of this decision,' he said.
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Zimbabwe's opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai was sworn in as prime minister, joining President Robert Mugabe in a unity government after a decade of struggling to push him from power.
'I will well and truly serve Zimbabwe in the office of prime minister,' Tsvangirai said as he took his oath of office from Mugabe under a white tent in the lawn of the presidential mansion.
Former South African president Thabo Mbeki, who mediated in the power-sharing talks, attended the ceremony along with Mozambican President Armando Guebuza and Swazi King Mswati III.
After the swearing-in, Tsvangirai planned to address his supporters in a stadium, with a speech that will celebrate but also need to reassure.
Tsvangirai's decision to bring his Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) into the unity government has raised doubts overseas and sparked fierce debate within his own party.
The former trade union leader is all too aware of the concerns that he, like earlier Mugabe rivals, could be swallowed into the long-ruling ZANU-PF party without changing the course of a nation that is by any measure disintegrating.
'The sceptics must understand why we have done this and what is the best course of action to address the questions and challenges of transition in this political environment,' Tsvangirai said on the eve of his swearing-in.
'We have made this decision and we made it without being forced. We want our colleagues in the country and outside the country to approach it from that perspective. It is our decision. Let history be the judge of this decision,' he said.
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