Mugabe refuses to resign
ZIMBABWE’S veteran despot Robert Mugabe yesterday refused to accept he had been toppled by a military coup even though he was under house arrest.
Mugabe, 93, and his hated wife Grace, 52, were being held at their palatial “Blue House” in Harare.
They had been joined by two of his wife’s henchmen, Jonathan Moyo and Saviour Kasukuwere, whose homes had been shot up by Zimbabwean troops.
Yesterday Mugabe was seen for the first time since the coup when he met with South African envoys, defence minister Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nqakula and state security minister Bongani Bongo, under the watch of the military while still under house arrest
Despite being under armed guard Mugabe was refusing to stand down. The dictator, who has been accused in the past of genocide, corruption and vote-rigging, claimed he could only be removed by a party leadership vote. He was also refusing the offer of a Catholic priest to broker a dignified exit.
But the Army’s grip was shown when Zanu-PF youth leader Kudzai Chipanga, a vocal supporter of Mrs Mugabe, was paraded on state television to apologise for opposing the coup.
He was then returned to the army’s main barracks in Harare where finance minister Ignatius Chombo is also being held.
And there were claims that head of military General Constantino Chiwenga was given China’s approval for the coup on a visit to the country last week.
Opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai, who has been receiving cancer treatment in Britain and South Africa, returned to Harare on Wednesday.
Yesterday he said: “In the interest of the people Robert Mugabe must resign and step down immediately.”