Zimbabwe’s president designate Emmerson Mnangagwa arrived back in Zimbabwe on Wednesday where he delivered a tub-thumping speech to jubilant Zanu PF supporters in the capital Harare.

Mr Mnagagwa used his first public words after arriving back from South Africa to accuse the Mugabe regime of trying to poison him, and said he decided to act rather than ‘wait for them to eliminate me.’

He also gleefully referred to Robert Mugabe as the ‘former president’ to wild applause from the crowd.

Mr Mnangagwa, who is known as The Crocodile from his revolutionary days, also promised a ‘new democracy’ for Zimbabwe along with peace, security and jobs.

In an attempt to pacify early critics who said Zimbabwe was simply replacing one dictator with another, Mr Mnangagwa vowed to be a ‘servant’ to the country and a voice for ‘the people of Zimbabwe’ – a phrase he repeated dozens of times.