Robert Mugabe

Mugabe cried, claimed he was 'betrayed'

President Emmerson Mnangagwa, a former loyalist, was sworn in on Friday and attention is focused on whether he will name a broad-based government or select figures from Mugabe's era.

The Standard newspaper quoted sources within Mr Mugabe's inner circle as saying the devout Catholic held a rosary as he told his close associates and a team of negotiators at his 'Blue House' Harare mansion that he was resigning. He announced the decision as parliament heard a motion to impeach him.

"He looked down and said 'people were chameleons'," one of the sources was quoted as saying.

Zimbabwe latest: Mugabe 'let wife Grace usurp power'

The motion is now due to be presented to parliament on Tuesday.

Senior party member Paul Mangwana said the process could take as little as two days to complete, and President Mugabe could be removed by Wednesday.

A deadline set by Zanu-PF for his resignation passed on Monday.

Separately, military leaders said they had planned a "roadmap" for Mr Mugabe's future, and that the ousted former vice-president, Emmerson Mnangagwa, would return to the country soon.

Zimbabwe's Robert Mugabe vows to stay on despite army pressure

In a live TV address, Mr Mugabe said he would preside over the ruling party's congress in December.

The Zanu-PF earlier sacked him as party leader, and gave him less than 24 hours to resign as president or be impeached.

His grip on power has weakened since the military intervened on Wednesday, in a row over who should succeed him.

A crisis was triggered after Mr Mugabe sacked his deputy, Emmerson Mnangagwa, two weeks ago, angering the army who saw it as an attempt to move his wife, Grace, into the position of his successor.

Zimbabwe's ruling party sacks Robert Mugabe as leader

Zanu-PF has also given Mr Mugabe, 93, until 10:00 GMT on Monday to resign as president, or face impeachment.

He is currently addressing the nation, after meeting military leaders who have called on him to step down.

The military intervened last week, in an apparent attempt to block him from installing his wife as his successor.

The first lady, Grace Mugabe, and several other senior officials have been expelled from the party altogether.

Tens of thousands of Zimbabweans attended street protests on Saturday, demonstrating against the Mugabes.

Mugabe sacks 'disloyal' vice-president

Mr Mnangagwa, 75, had displayed "traits of disloyalty", Information Minister Simon Khaya Moyo said.

His removal makes it more likely that President Robert Mugabe's wife Grace will follow in her husband's footsteps as leader of Zimbabwe.

She had earlier called on her husband to remove his vice-president.

"Mr Mnangagwa's conduct in discharge of his duties is inconsistent with the responsibilities," the information minister said.

"The vice-president has exhibited traits of disloyalty."

WHO cancels Robert Mugabe goodwill ambassador role

"I have listened carefully to all who have expressed their concerns," WHO head Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said in a statement.

He had previously praised Zimbabwe for its commitment to public health.

But critics pointed out that Zimbabwe's healthcare system had collapsed in recent years.

During the first 20 years of his 37-year rule, Mr Mugabe widely expanded health care, but the system has badly been affected by the collapse of the Zimbabwean economy since 2000.

Even a dead Robert Mugabe could stand in Zimbabwe election - wife

Grace Mugabe, 51, was addressing a rally of the governing Zanu-PF party.

Mr Mugabe has governed Zimbabwe since the end of white-majority rule in 1980 following a bitterly fought war.

His wife, who has often professed her undying loyalty to her husband, has assumed an increasingly high profile.

"One day when God decides that Mugabe dies, we will have his corpse appear as a candidate on the ballot paper," Mrs Mugabe told the rally in Buhera, south-east of the capital Harare.

Fearless young Zimbabweans face up to world's oldest leader

There have been challenges, opposition and violence, but the 92-year-old leader has always known how to deal with dissent and stay in power, frequently using brutal tactics.

But now there are protesters, young and leaderless, united by social media.

Erstwhile confidants of Mugabe, themselves liberation war heroes, are emerging to challenge him for political leadership.

And members of the security forces, so key to maintaining order, are no longer unquestioningly loyal. Are all of the ingredients finally in place for a change in Zimbabwe.

 

Mugabe critics 'denied food aid'

The country's human rights commission said opponents of President Robert Mugabe's Zanu-PF party had been told they would never get any food aid.

The government has not yet commented.

Mr Mugabe declared a state of disaster in February, with the government estimating that four million people would need food aid by January 2017.

"Ruling party members were the major perpetrators in violations linked to distribution of food," Zimbabwe Human Rights Commission (ZHRC) chairman Elasto Mugwadi told media in the capital, Harare, detailing the findings of the investigation.

Robert Mugabe jokes over health rumours

Mr Mugabe, 92, was arriving back in the country at the main airport in Harare and appeared jovial as he disembarked.

Flight data had suggested his plane was heading to East Asia but that it instead went to Dubai. Mr Mugabe said he had gone there for a family matter.

In May, Mr Mugabe's wife, Grace, said that he would rule from the grave.

The flight path and other rumours had led some to speculate that Mr Mugabe had suffered a serious health problem and had sought treatment in Dubai or had even succumbed to his illness.