MNANGAGWA URGES MUGABE TO QUIT NOW
LONDON - Zimbabwe's former vice-president, whose sacking led to last week's army takeover, has urged President Robert Mugabe to resign immediately.
Emmerson Mnangagwa said he fled abroad two weeks ago when he learned of a plot to kill him, and he would not return until he was sure of his security.
Mugabe is accused of allowing his wife to "usurp constitutional power."
Speaking from an undisclosed location on yesterday, Mnangagwa said the 93-yearold president should heed the "clarion call" of his people and step down.
"I told the President that I would not return home now until I am satisfied of my personal security, because of the manner and treatment given to me upon being fired," he said in a statement.
Emmerson Mnangagwa more or less accused President Mugabe of trying to have him killed. The statement from the former vice-president gave an extraordinary insight into the vicious power struggles that preceded last week’s military intervention here.
On Monday night, Zimbabwe’s army generals claimed that Mnangagwa had agreed to return home as part of a transitional roadmap.
Mr Mugabe has presided over a deepening economic crisis. Zimbabweans are on average 15 perent poorer now than they were in 1980.
What triggered moves to oust him was Mnangagwa’s dismissal as vice-president two weeks ago. The move was seen by many as clearing the way for Mugabe’s wife Grace to succeed her husband as leader.
The move riled top soldiers, who stepped in and put Mugabe under house arrest. However he remains president, and in recent days has defied calls from his own party and from protesters to stand down.