Zimbabwe’s ruling party, ZANU-PF will today sack the country’s President, Robert Mugabe from holding sway on Sunday morning, sources have revealed.
The party’s meeting, which is scheduled to start at 10.30am (8.30 GMT), will also reinstate vice-president Emmerson Mnangagwa and remove Mugabe’s wife Grace, from the leadership.
The announcement came as thousands took to the streets of Zimbabwe’s capital Harare to demand the end of Mugabe’s leadership after four decades in power.
Euphoric crowds marched in celebration of the end of the Mugabe era, with people of all races calling for the official process to be sped up.
Some had posters with an image of the military commander who swept in earlier this week and put the 93-year-old under house arrest, with the slogan: “Go, go, our general!!!”
The 93-year-old president is due on Sunday morning to meet the army commanders who took power last week, a statement broadcast by the state-run TV channel said.
The face-to-face encounter is only the second since the military takeover five days ago and will take place as leaders of Zanu-PF convene to endorse a motion demanding that Mugabe resign as president and stripping the party leader of his post of first secretary. Parliament is expected to start impeachment proceedings next week.
Sources close to the military said the president had asked a Catholic priest and lifelong friend to act as an intermediary in talks with generals. Mugabe had previously rejected similar offers of mediation, suggesting that he was close to making a significant concession.
Few options are now open to the autocrat, who has ruled Zimbabwe through a mixture of coercion, bribery and revolutionary rhetoric for nearly four decades. Support in some branches of the security establishment – including the police – has evaporated and high-profile political supporters have been detained.
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