Zimbabwe latest: Mugabe's party leads calls for resignation
November 17, 2017
Several major world powers and even members of the president's party have indicated they would like to see President Mugabe resign. Most branches of his ZANU-PF party have passed votes of no confidence against him.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/AP/T. Mukwazhi
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On Friday, it appeared as if the vast networks of intelligence and patronage that Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe has spent 37 years consolidating were on the verge of collapse.
With global leaders, opposition politicians and most of his own party calling on him to step down, Mugabe made his first, muted, public appearance after a military takeover of the government was launched earlier in the week.
US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson said that Mugabe's resignation would be a welcome opportunity to forge a "new path" after decades of increasingly authoritarian rule.
"We all should work together for a quick return to civilian rule in that country in accordance with their constitution," Tillerson said.
Zimbabwe's political future has been uncertain after the military took control of the country. The crisis follows years of economic and political upheaval.
Image: Getty Images/AFP
The military intervention
Led by General Constantino Chiwenga (right), Zimbabwe's military placed President Robert Mugabe under house arrest early Wednesday. It also surrounded government offices and the parliament and took control of the state broadcaster. An army spokesman said it was "not a military takeover," but an attempt to bring "justice" to Mugabe's aides who were "causing social and economic suffering."
Image: Getty Images/AFP/J. Njikizana
Grace Mugabe's ambition for power
The army reportedly also placed President Mugabe's wife, Grace (right), under house arrest. The First Lady had been positioning herself to succeed her husband before the intervention. She angered military leaders in early November after calling for the dismissal of former Vice President Emmerson Mnangagwa. President Mugabe fired Mnangagwa shortly thereafter.
Image: Getty Images/J.Njikizana
The 'Crocodile'
Emmerson Mnangagwa, often referred to by his nickname "the Crocodile," had been seen as President Mugabe's likely successor before he was ousted as vice president. Mnangagwa is a veteran of the country's independence struggle in the 1970s and popular with the military. Some have speculated that the 75-year-old may return from his self-imposed exile in South Africa to replace Mugabe as President.
Image: Getty Images/AFP/A. Joe
Zimbabwe's economic woes
Zimbabwe's economy has collapsed under President Mugabe's rule. Extreme hyperinflation destroyed the Zimbabwe dollar in the late 2000s. The economy is half the size it was in 2000 and the country has struggled to service its $7 billion in international debt. Once a "bread basket," government land reforms have ruined the agricultural sector and left millions facing food shortages.
Image: AP
Political discontent
The country's economic breakdown had shaken President Mugabe's grip on power once before. A disputed and violent 2008 presidential vote almost resulted in the election of opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai (pictured). The outcome forced Mugabe into a power-sharing agreement with Tsvangirai's Movement for Democratic Change (MDC). The pact ended in 2013, but political opposition to Mugabe remained.
Image: Reuters
Zimbabwe's colonial past
President Mugabe's initial popularity stemmed from his involvement in the fight against white-minority rule in Zimbabwe in the 1960s and 1970s. Mugabe became prime minister in 1980 after the last white-minority government gave up power. Many of his political peers, including General Constantino Chiwenga and Emmerson Mnangagwa, were also involved in the struggle.
Image: Getty Images/AFP
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China, for its part, said it would be "glad to see an early restoration of national stability and social order."
A Chinese army commander had even offered to "step in" and restore order after Mugabe fired his longtime deputy Emmerson Mnangagwa two weeks ago in a move to make his wife, Grace Mugabe, his heir apparent.
Mnangagwa's supporters are planning to hold a rally in the capital, Harare, on Saturday.
Not only did Mugabe finally make a public appearance after several days under house arrest, to attend a graduation ceremony, but high-ranking members of his own ZANU-PF party called for his ouster.
Eight out of ten of ZANU-PF's provincial have passed votes of no confidence in Mugabe, and at least one state committee has publicly demanded his resignation according to state-run broadcaster ZBC.
For some in Zimbabwe, Mugabe is still the hero of the country's independence struggle against Great Britain. But for many, he is an autocrat guilty of rights violations, who has brought the country's economy to the brink of collapse.
Zimbabwe's power struggle: The key players
Zimbabwe's military on Wednesday detained leading political officials including President Robert Mugabe and his wife, Grace. The intervention is the latest in a power struggle for the country's political future.
Image: Reuters/P. Bulawayo
President Robert Mugabe
Mugabe, 93, has ruled Zimbabwe since the country's independence from Britain in 1980. Under the former resistance leader's administration, rampant inflation and economic mismanagement have ruined national living standards. In the struggle over his succession, Mugabe has sided with his wife, Grace, against former Vice President Emmerson Mnangagwa, who he fired in early November.
Image: picture alliance/AP Photo/T.Mukwazhi
Grace Mugabe
Grace, 52, had made no secret of her wish to succeed her husband, who she married in 1996. She publically called for the dismissal of Vice President Mnangagwa and pushed for the ruling ZANU-PF party to reserve party leadership for a woman. After Mnangagwa was ousted in early November, she said: "If you see yourself going against the chosen leadership, you are gone and finished."
Image: Getty Images/AFP/J. Njikiziana
Emmerson Mnangagwa
Mnangagwa, 75, is a veteran of the country's 1970s liberation struggle and popular with the Zimbabwean military. Known as the "Crocodile," he was picked by Mugabe as vice president in late 2014. He had been expected to succeed the aging president before he and around 100 of his allies were fired in early November. He reportedly fled to South Africa shortly thereafter.
Image: Getty Images/A. Joe
General Constantino Chiwenga
Zimbabwe's military chief appears to be leading Wednesday's intervention against Mugabe's inner circle. Despite the optics, his deputy said it was "not a military takeover." On Tuesday, Chiwenga warned "counter-revolutionary infiltrators" in the ZANU-PF to stop purging his allies and threatened military intervention. The party responded by accusing the general of "treasonable conduct."
Image: Getty Images/AFP/A. Joe
Kudzai Chipanga
The 35-year-old leader of ZANU-PF's youth wing has supported Grace Mugabe's bid for power. After General Chiwenga's threatened intervention on Tuesday, Chipanga fired back, saying: "We in our millions will not let an individual military man interfere with the leader of the party and legitimately voted president of the country." Chipanga was also reportedly detained on Wednesday.
Image: Getty Images/AFP/J. Njikizana
Ignatius Morgan Chombo
The finance minister, who was appointed in October, has long been a key ally of Robert and Grace Mugabe. Chombo is one of the leading voices within the ZANU-PF supporting Grace's bid for power. The military reportedly detained the 65-year-old on Wednesday. (Author: Alexander Pearson)
