Mugabe resigns as president, celebrations break out at Zimbabwe parliament

The 93-year-old Mugabe had clung on for a week after an army takeover

International News :  Robert Mugabe Resigns as Zimbabwe’s president on Tuesday, a week after the army and his former political allies moved to end four decades of rule by a man once feted as an independence hero who became feared as a despot.

His former vice president, Emmerson Mnangagwa, whose sacking this month prompted the military takeover that forced Mugabe out, will be sworn in as president on Wednesday or Thursday, Patrick Chinamasa, legal secretary of the ruling ZANU-PF party, told Reuters.

The 93-year-old Mugabe had clung on for a week after an army takeover, with ZANU-PF urging him to go. He finally resigned moments after parliament began an impeachment process seen as the only legal way to force him out.

Wild celebrations broke out at a joint sitting of parliament when Speaker Jacob Mudenda read out Mugabe’s brief resignation letter. Mugabe, confined to his Harare residence, did not appear.

People danced in the streets of Harare and car horns blared at the news that the era of Mugabe — who had led Zimbabwe since independence in 1980 — was finally over. Some brandished posters of Mnangagwa and army chief General Constantino Chiwenga.

Workers turned the Christmas lights on early in Africa Unity Square and people climbed aboard armoured vehicles to pose for photographs with soldiers.

Despite the public outpouring of joy, Mugabe’s downfall was as much the result of in-fighting among the political elite as a popular uprising, although thousands of people rallied against him in the days after the army intervened last week.

The army seized power after Mugabe sacked Mnangagwa, ZANU-PF’s favourite to succeed him, in a bid to smooth a path to the presidency for his wife Grace, 52, known to her critics as “Gucci Grace” for her reputed fondness for luxury shopping.

Click to Read → Zimbabwe Crisis

Zimbabwe army out on streets in Harare; US, UK ask citizens to stay indoors

Speculation has been rife in Harare that Mugabe could seek to remove Chiwenga, who is seen as an ally of ousted Mnangagwa.

International News : The US embassy in Zimbabwe today warned its citizens in the country to “shelter in place” due to “ongoing political uncertainty” as the crisis threatening President Robert Mugabe’s government deepened.

“As a result of the ongoing political uncertainty through the night, the Ambassador has instructed all employees to remain home (Wednesday),” the embassy in Harare said in a statement. Mugabe ZANU-PF party accused army chief General Constantino Chiwenga on Tuesday of “treasonable conduct”. The public dispute has presented a major test for Mugabe, who is in increasingly frail health.

Chiwenga had demanded that Mugabe stop purges of senior party figures, including vice president Emmerson Mnangagwa, who was dismissed last week.

ZANU-PF said Chiwenga’s stance was “clearly calculated to disturb national peace… and suggests treasonable conduct on his part as this was meant to incite insurrection”.

Before being ousted, Mnangagwa had clashed repeatedly with Mugabe’s wife Grace, 52, who is seen as vying with Mnangagwa to be the next president.

As the situation deteriorated overnight, the US embassy in Harare warned its citizens in the country to “shelter in place” due to “ongoing political uncertainty”.

The armoured vehicles spotted outside Harare alarmed many residents as Chiwenga had warned of possible military intervention. The army’s spokesman was not available to comment.

“I saw a long convoy of military vehicles,” a female fruit seller told AFP, while other witnesses took to social media to confirm the reports.

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