Zimbabwe lawmakers seek Mugabe’s impeachment

HARARE, Zimbabwe (AP) — Zimbabwe’s parliament will “definitely” put in motion a process to impeach President Robert Mugabe, the main opposition’s parliamentary chief whip says, adding that they have been in discussions with the ruling ZANU-PF party to act jointly.

Innocent Gonese with the MDC-T party tells The Associated Press: “If Mugabe is not gone by Tuesday, then as sure as the sun rises from the east, impeachment process will kick in.”

The MDC-T has unsuccessfully tried to impeach Mugabe in the past, but now the ruling party has turned against him.

The ruling party on Sunday is likely to fire Mugabe as party leader at a Central Committee meeting. State-run media also says Mugabe will meet the army commander who put him under house arrest for another round of talks.

Clinging to his now-powerless post, longtime Zimbabwe President Robert Mugabe is set to discuss his expected exit with the army commander who put him under house arrest.

And a day after huge crowds rallied in the capital for Mugabe to go, the ruling party’s Central Committee is expected to meet Sunday on demands by provincial branches to recall Mugabe as party leader.

The meeting also is expected to reinstate the vice president whose firing nearly two weeks ago led the military to step in.

Mugabe’s talks with army commander Constantino Chiwenga are the second round of negotiations on an exit with a veneer of dignity as the military tries to avoid accusations of a coup.

This time, the talks do not appear to include a South African government delegation.