Mugabe impeachment process begins

Zimbabwe ousted VP appeals to president to heed the call and resign

Zimbabwe’s parliament on Tuesday began debating impeachment proceedings against President Robert Mugabe, the country’s sole leader since independence 37 years ago.

As the 93-year-old president faced intensifying pressure to quit, southern Africa’s regional bloc announced it was dispatching the presidents of Angola and South Africa to Harare to discuss the crisis.

Lawmakers began the historic impeachment debate shortly after ousted vice president Emmerson Mnangagwa, who could be the country’s next leader, told Mugabe to step down.

Mnangagwa, formerly one of Mugabe’s closest allies, said in a statement that Zimbabweans had “clearly demonstrated without violence their insatiable desire” for Mugabe to resign.

“It is my appeal to President Mugabe that he should take heed of this clarion call,” he said.

Parliament speaker Jacob Mubenda authorized a joint session of the House of Assembly and the Senate to debate a motion to impeach the man who is the only leader most Zimbabweans have ever known. “This motion is unprecedented in the history of post-independence Zimbabwe,” he declared.

The parliamentary procedure needed to remove Mugabe is long and complex. Legislators decided to postpone the sitting until 14:30 GMT.

There were tense protests outside parliament as hundreds of demonstrators – from rival political parties – shouted for Mugabe to go.

A bubbling factional squabble over the presidential succession erupted two weeks ago when Mugabe fired Mnangagwa. The dismissal put Mugabe’s wife Grace in prime position to succeed her ageing husband, prompting the military to step in to block her path to the presidency.

After Mnangagwa fled abroad, the army took over the country and placed Mugabe under house arrest – provoking amazement and delight among many Zimbabweans as his reign appeared close to an end.