Emmerson Mnangagwa Sworn-in as New Zimbabwe President

75-year-old Emmerson Mnangagwa has taken oath of office as the new President of Zimbabwe following the resignation of long-serving President Robert Mugabe.

Mnangagwa was sworn-in as the new commander-in-chief at a ceremony held at the National Sports Stadium in the outskirts of Harare on Friday.

"I Emmerson Dambudzo Mnangagwa swear that as the president of the republic of Zimbabwe I will be faithful to Zimbabwe and obey, uphold and defend the constitution and all other laws of Zimbabwe," he said as he took the oath of office before the chief justice, in a ceremony attended by a jubilant crowd of tens of thousands of people.

He takes over from Mugabe, who ruled the southern African country for 37 years before he was ousted from office by the country's military, who intervened after he fired Mnangagwa as vice president.

In his acceptance speech, Mnangagwa praised Mugabe, saying he still personally recognized him as his leader.

"He led us in our struggle for national independence. He assumed responsibility for leadership at a formative and very challenging time," Mnangagwa said, adding later that the nation should "let bygones be bygones."

Mnangagwa vowed to revamp Zimbabwe's economy and initiate reforms to boost exports, attract investment and stabilize the financial sector.