Former Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe on Sunday congratulated President Emmerson Mnangagwa on his inauguration as the President of Zimbabwe for the next five years.

Mnangagwa succeeded Mugabe after he resigned in November last year following a military intervention which ended his 37 years in power. Mugabe extended the congratulations in a letter read out by Mnangagwa at his inauguration ceremony at the National Sports Stadium in Harare. In the letter, Mugabe said he and his wife Grace were unable to attend the inauguration ceremony despite being invited because they were not feeling well.

"Thank you for your invitation to me and my wife to attend the inauguration ceremony. My wife is not well in Singapore and also I am not well. So I am sending my daughter (Bona) and her husband to represent us. Hearty congratulations,” Mugabe said in the letter.