Zimbabwe's ruling party is set to launch impeachment proceedings
Tuesday against President Robert Mugabe, in the latest bid to oust the
93-year-old strongman still clinging to power after 37 years in office.
A
military takeover last week was followed by huge street protests
against the authoritarian leader, and the Zanu-PF, his own once-loyal
party, has also turned against him.
"The
party has instructed the chief whip to proceed with impeachment
processes," Zanu-PF said in a statement, with the motion due to be
presented before parliament on Tuesday.
Power
On
Monday evening, army chief Constantino Chiwenga told reporters that
progress had been made in talks towards an apparent exit deal for
Mugabe, the world's oldest head of state.
He
also said Mugabe was in touch with Emmerson Mnangagwa, the ousted vice
president whose sacking led to the military takeover and Mugabe's shock
loss of power.
"The security services are encouraged by new
developments which include contact between the president and the former
vice president... who is expected in the country shortly," Chiwenga
said.
"The nation will be advised of the outcome of talks between the two."
Chiwenga
called for calm after Zimbabweans had celebrated Saturday at
anti-Mugabe marches that would have been brutally repressed just a week
ago.
Defied expectations
The
marchers' joy quickly turned to despair as Mugabe brushed aside the
turmoil, blithely declaring on Sunday that he would chair a top-level
meeting of the party that had just disavowed him.
In
a televised address, the president defied expectations he would step
down, pitching the country into a second week of political crisis.
Mugabe is feted in parts of Africa as the continent's last surviving independence leader.
He was a key figure in the war for independence and took office as prime minister in 1980, riding a wave of goodwill.
His reputation was swiftly tarnished, however, by his authoritarian instincts, rights abuses and economic policies.
Most
Zimbabweans have known life only under his rule, which has been defined
by violent suppression, economic collapse and international isolation.
Despite
his fragile health, Mugabe had previously said he would stand in
elections next year that could have kept him in power until he was
nearly 100 years old.
But a factional squabble over the presidential succession erupted into the open on November 13, precipitating the crisis.
Mugabe's
wife Grace, 52, secured prime position to succeed her husband when
Mnangagwa, who is close to the military leadership, was abruptly fired.
After Mnangagwa fled abroad, the army took over the country and placed Mugabe under house arrest.
The
army insists it has not carried out a coup, but rather an operation to
arrest allegedly corrupt supporters around the Mugabe family.
Impeach Mugabe
Zanu-PF
lawmakers said that they would take the first steps to impeach Mugabe
on Tuesday after he ignored their ultimatum to resign.
"We have the numbers, the opposition is also going to support us," Vongai Mupereri, a party MP, said.
"We are going to impeach — the man has to go," said another Zanu-PF lawmaker, MacKenzie Ncube.
Chris Vandome, an analyst at the Chatham House, a London-based think-tank, warned of the risk of public unrest.
"They
will start impeaching him (Tuesday), that is certainly the will of the
military, but it's increasingly now the will of the people," Vandome
said.
"The longer this goes on for, the more the likelihood of violence increases."
Legal experts say impeachment could take weeks and be subject to court appeals.
Mugabe
is thought to be battling to delay his exit in order to secure a deal
that would guarantee protection for him and his family.
"It might take days and weeks, but Mugabe is on his way out," said Charles Muramba, a 46-year-old bus driver in Harare.
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