END OF MUGABE’S BRUTAL REIGN
He’s under house arrest Hated wife may have fled His exiled rival returns
ROBERT Mugabe’s tyrannical 37-year rule of Zimbabwe appeared to be at an end last night after his own army placed him under house arrest in what looked like a military coup.
Soldiers took over government buildings and state broadcaster ZBC in the capital Harare and arrested supporters of the 93year-old president’s unpopular wife Grace.
In what was described as a ‘bloodless correction’, the military said only ‘those causing social and economic suffering’ were being detained.
The events were orchestrated by generals loyal to vice president Emmerson Mnangagwa – nicknamed The Crocodile – who was one of Mugabe’s closest allies until he was purged last week.
Sources in the impoverished southern African country suggested Mugabe could be forced to step down by the end of the week, with Mr Mnangagwa in line to become interim leader.
The whereabouts of 52-year-old Mrs Mugabe, whose lavish spending on mansions, cars and jewellery has made her deeply unpopular in the nation, was unclear.
Some reports said she had fled to Namibia, while others claimed she was being held under house arrest with her aged husband.
Army chiefs said last night they were merely restoring democracy and their actions did not amount to a military takeover, even though soldiers in armoured personnel carriers were deployed at key locations and there were at least three explosions in Harare.
But the African Union, made up of all the continent’s nations, said the intervention ‘ seems like a coup’, and demanded an i mmediate return to constitutional order.
Gunfire erupted near Mugabe’s 25-bedroom mansion in Harare, with up to 40 shots reportedly heard on Tuesday night.
Pictures posted on social media appeared to show lines of police – who are loyal to Mugabe – being detained in the street by soldiers.
Critics said the political upheaval would do little to improve the lives of millions living in poverty caused by Mugabe’s mismanagement.
The takeover began a day after Zimbabwe’s top generals warned Mugabe he faced a coup if he continued to purge senior figures from his ruling Zanu-PF party. They carried out their threat as fears grew that he was clearing the way for his wife to succeed him as president.
Zanu-PF infighting culminated in the sacking of Mr Mnangagwa, 75, who fled to South Africa last week after claiming he had received death threats. He vowed to return to unseat Mugabe and form a ‘transitional authority’ with the backing of the armed forces and the veterans of the country’s war of independence against Britain.
Mr Mnangagwa reportedly flew back to Zimbabwe yesterday.
Chris Mutsvangwa, the chairman of the war veterans’ association and Mr Mnangagwa’s unofficial spokesman, said the coup was needed to prevent further chaos in the country, adding: ‘It’s the end of a very painful and sad chapter in the history of a young nation, in which a dictator, as he became old, surrendered his court to a gang of thieves around his wife.’
Local government minister Saviour Kasukuwere, finance minister Ignatius Chombo and Mugabe’s nephew Patrick Zhuwao were among those arrested by the military yesterday. All three are part of the G40 faction of Zanu-PF loyal to Mrs Mugabe. Earlier, Major General Sibusiso Moyo appeared on TV to insist the intervention was ‘not a military takeover of government’.
Insisting that Mugabe’s security was guaranteed, he said: ‘We are only targeting criminals around him who are... causing social and economic suffering in the country in order to bring them to justice.’
South African president Jacob Zuma said he had spoken to Mugabe, who ‘indicated he was confined to his home but was fine’. His country is sending officials to aid a peaceful power transition.
Piers Pigou, of the International Crisis Group, said: ‘It’s a coup, but the military is trying to put a veneer of legality on the process. Neighbouring countries may be brought in to put some lipstick on the pig.’
Mugabe has kept an iron grip on power since Zimbabwe became independent in 1980. But his corrupt rule led to the world’s second worst hyper-inflation, impoverishing seven in ten citizens.
‘Surrendered his court to a gang of thieves’