George Charamba explains why VP Chiwenga had to woke up at 2am to receive Mnangagwa at airport

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President Emmerson Dambudzo Mnangagwa’s spokesperson George Charamba has explained that protocol that requires acting Presidents at see off and receive the Head of State at the airport.

He was responding to a story by the Newshawks online publication on the matter.

He writes:

TO ASSIST @NewsHawksLive AND OTHERS: The law of the Land spells out who acts in place of the Head of State when he is away and out of the country for whatever reason.

The Head of State is required by the same law to designate the person who stands in his place.

Beyond that, the person so designated is required to be at the point of EXIT, which is the PORT at which the extant Head of State leaves the country.

So important is this procedure that the person designated has to be physically present, or else the Head of State may not leave the country.

On several occasions, we have had to either facilitate rapid transfer of a Vice President designated to act, or even delay the departure of the Head of State.

The port of Exit is that point where the sitting Head of State hands over instruments of power to the character chosen to act.

This is why the Acting character actually gets saluted by the command, led by the CDF, once the incumbent of airborne.

This is also why we announce who the acting person is. Fast forward to the Head of State’s return.

Again, the Acting President MUST be at the PORT of re-entry to HAND BACK INSTRUMENTS OF POWER temporarily given him in an ACTING CAPACITY.

He appears together with the Command, and is the first one to greet the Head of State upon his return.

In that welcome and handshake is the symbolic act of HANDING BACK power ceded temporarily to its elected owner.

This is very important: the Acting President greets the returning Head of State first, even if both Vice Presidents are in attendance.

Switching that implies transfer of power between peers, something untoward given that the power comes to them from its lawful haver, the sitting Head of State in other words.

Even if it happens that the Acting President gets incapacitated when the President is away, the President is required to make a fresh appointment of an Acting person, a decision which gets communicated through the Chief Secretary.

The second Vice President , that is one who is not coming in an Acting capacity, receives the returning Head of State as a courtesy. As, too, do ministers and officials.

Courtesy has no time table; duty is a requirement. Receiving party for a sitting Head of State is a matter of international practice; it is not unique to Zimbabwe. Know ye all men and women of goodwill!!!!