Mugabe all smiles at talks on future
DEFIANT despot Robert Mugabe is refusing to stand down as president of Zimbabwe.
The 93-year-old was seen for the first time since the army seized power and placed him under house arrest, shaking hands with General Constantino Chiwenga – the man credited with triggering the coup that has left the country’s future hanging in the balance.
Mr Mugabe was escorted to showdown talks with South African politicians and generals at his official residence. A state-run newspaper published pictures of him relaxed and smiling as he met the envoys.
Mr Mugabe faces overwhelming pressure to stand down, but sources said he was stubbornly clinging to power and demanded he stay in office until elections next year.
He has told supporters he remains Zimbabwe’s only legitimate leader. But journalists in the country said they believed a deal would be agreed if Mr Mugabe and his wife Grace, 52, were guaranteed safe passage out of the country once his brutal 37year rule was finally over.
The military intervention came after the power struggle between Mrs Mugabe and the former vice-president Emmerson Mnangagwa over who should succeed him split the ruling Zanu-PF party. Mr Mugabe, favouring his wife, last week sacked Mr Mnangagwa, who did not appear to be at yesterday’s meeting.
The ailing leader has told confidants he wants promises of security for his family and assurances he will not face prosecution once he is no longer leader.
He has also laid down demands to keep his wealth, amassed over almost four decades as ruler over Zimbabwe’s once-rich resources.
Mrs Mugabe was not present at the talks but was believed to be in Harare. Her lavish spending has made her deeply unpopular in the impoverished country, and there was a growing divide between officials in Zanu-PF and her faction of supporters, known as Generation 40.
Mr Mugabe had been under house arrest at his residence in the northern suburb of Borrowdale since Tuesday.
South Africa, the biggest regional power, sent a delegation to the negotiations between Mr Mugabe and the army. General Chiwenga, who on Monday warned the army was ready to “step in”, was also present. He was pictured shaking hands with Mr Mugabe, along with Catholic priest Fidelis Mukonori.