President Mnangagwa: ‘Zimbabwe is open for business’

“The family, the children, are citizens of Zimbabwe and they have every right like any other citizen,” he said. “If they commit any crime or any corruption they will be dealt with.”

Mugabe’s firing of then-vice president Mnangagwa in early November, in an apparent attempt to clear a path for his wife Grace to succeed him, set in motion a military takeover and ultimately the president’s resignation.

Mnangagwa said Zimbabweans will have “fair and free” elections when they next go to the polls later this year.

Unlike his predecessor, Mnangagwa said independent international monitors would be present.

Compensation on land reform

The president also said compensation would be paid for developments on property seized by the government in controversial land reforms. However, he added, “we will not pay anything on the land itself.”

Under Mugabe’s program of land reform, forced land seizures from white farmers resulted in serious economic and social consequences. Large-scale commercial agriculture — the backbone of the country’s economy — was replaced by subsistence farming, hyper-inflation set in and, later, the country was forced to dump its currency and adopt the US dollar.

“We don’t regret the actions we took,” Mnangagwa told CNN, adding that violence was used in “some instances.”

“We fought a war of liberation for more than 15 years to regain our land — it was a situation where 1% of the population owned 75% of the land.”

Gay rights not changing any time soon

Same-sex marriage is banned in Zimbabwe, and that doesn’t appear to be changing any time soon under Mnangagwa’s leadership.

“Those people who want it are the people who should canvass for it, but it’s not my duty to campaign for this,” he said.

“In our constitution it is banned — and it is my duty to obey my constitution.”

Can Mnangagwa deliver a new-look economy?

Mugabe’s resignation marked the end of an era in Zimbabwe. The 93-year-old ruled the country with an iron fist for 37 years and was the only leader the nation has known since it achieved independence from Britain in 1980.