It has been another extraordinary day in the history of Zimbabwe - here is a summary of the latest events...
- Mugabe remains head of state against all the odds after refusing to resign as president.
- He was expected to stand down in a historic address live on television after conceding to military takeover.
- But instead he clings to power following a rambling speech which left the nation stunned and baffled.
- In a statement delivered in Harare he claimed military intervention, which saw him placed under house arrest four days ago, was no challenge to his authority.
- The army stepped in to block Grace Mugabe’s tilt at power.
- Speaking slowly and occasionally stumbling as he read from pages, Mugabe talked of the need for solidarity to resolve national problems.
- He ended his speech by saying he will preside over an upcoming conference of the ruling Zanu-PF party.
- His defiance comes despite his sacking by Zanu-PF and in the face of huge public opposition.
- The news means widespread disappointment for those who thought they were witnessing the end of the Mugabe era and celebrated in euphoric scenes in the streets of Zimbabwe yesterday.
- His refusal to go plunges the country into deep uncertainty.
- The leader of Zimbabwe’s influential war veterans said plans for impeachment would go ahead as scheduled.
- The generals involved in the military takeover will issue a statement on Monday.
Updated
Emma Graham Harrison has been in Harare covering “Mugabe’s non-resignation”.
The presenter introducing Mugabe's non-resignation urged viewers to "sit back, relax and join us".
— Emma Graham-Harrison (@_EmmaGH) November 19, 2017
Updated
Breaking: The generals who have been involved in this crisis since their military takeover are saying they will issue their own statement on Monday morning
Updated
Zimbabwean political analyst George Shire told BBC News that Mugabe would be seeking out loopholes and hoping to prolong the impeachment process
Updated
Our Africa correspondent Jason Burke questions Mugabe’s motivation for defiance.
so Comrade Bob fails to resign, as anticipated. does he want the army to force him out, because he thinks that would trigger possible intervention? https://t.co/YH5UnDmLBn
— Jason Burke (@burke_jason) November 19, 2017
South African-based newspaper publisher Trevor Ncube has tweeted that General Chiwenga’s is facing accusations he has “sold out”.
Let me share with you what I am picking up. Military people below General Chiwenga believe he has sold out and might take this into their own hands. The people want Mugabe out yesterday , this might get out of control. Tonight did not help #Zimbabwe
— Trevor Ncube (@TrevorNcube) November 19, 2017
Africa correspondent for The Globe and Mail asks: did Mugabe outfox the army generals tonight or is he just deeply deluded?
In his speech tonight, Mugabe claimed that he will "preside over" the ZANU-PF conference next month -- even though the party has fired him.
— Geoffrey York (@geoffreyyork) November 19, 2017
He also said the military takeover has not damaged his authority.
Did he outfox the army generals tonight -- or is he just deeply deluded?
Updated
Read Jason Burke and Emma Graham-Harrison’s latest report on Mugabe - Chaos in Zimbabwe after Mugabe fails to announce expected resignation
Updated
Grace Mugabe was nowhere to be seen as the president gave his crucial live TV speech
To recap: Robert Mugabe faces impeachment after failing to quit as Zimbabwe's president https://t.co/NnUevhv8kQ pic.twitter.com/tgzUMa0wxD
— Bloomberg (@business) November 19, 2017
Speaking earlier Nkosi added: “Remember there is part of the community that still respects Robert Mugabe for the role he played in the liberation struggle against white minority rule. He was in prison for 10 years, he fought his way through until Zimbabweans gained their own independence in 1980. So there are people who still respect him even though they want him to step down so their lives can move on and that is why we don’t have a Gaddafi moment today.”
Updated
Reacting to Mugabe’s speech, BBC news analyst Milton Nkosi said: “He has vowed to stay on. He wants to die in office. But it is clear there is very little room for him to manoeuvre. There is no way for him to survive this week”.
Updated
Chris Mutsvangwa, the chairman of the Zimbabwe War Veterans Association and leader of the campaign to oust the embattled president, says Mugabe is “deaf and blind” to the desires of the people.
Updated
Lots of people are joking on Twitter that Mugabe missed out the key pages of his speech which detailed his resignation.
Did Mugabe.... did he miss out the key pages. The pages where he says.... the thing? You know, "the thing"?
— Jim Waterson (@jimwaterson) November 19, 2017
He stated “intergenerational conflict must be resolved,” a reference to his apparent positioning of his unpopular 52-year-old wife to succeed him.
In his speech, Mugabe said “failures of the past” may have triggered anger “in some quarters, which he calls “quite understandable”.
Updated
Sky’s David Bowden says Mugabe’s address was “an extraordinary ramble by an old man who seems to have just blazed on through and has said we are going to have a congress in a few weeks time and I am going to preside over it”.
Updated
BREAKING: 'I thank you and good night,' Zimbabwe's Mugabe says, ending without announcing resignation.
— The Associated Press (@AP) November 19, 2017
Chris Mutsvangwa, who has been leading a campaign to oust Mugabe, told Reuters in a text message moments after the speech that people would take to the streets of Harare on Wednesday.
Mugabe was constantly shuffling papers during his rambling speech.
No resignation but he’s ‘sorry’ he messed up the pages ‘It was a long speech’ pic.twitter.com/UnYpX7vfWC
— Hayley Barlow (@Hayley_Barlow) November 19, 2017
Mugabe has stunned the nation by refusing to resign and has said he will preside over party Congress in a few weeks, ignoring the fact he is no longer its leader.
Zimbabwe war veterans’ leader Christopher Mutsvangwa has told Reuters that plans for Mugabe’s impeachment will proceed.
Updated
He was flanked by generals as he gave his speech - he tripped over his words and towards the end said: “oh that’s a long speech”. Commentators are questioning whether he perhaps in fact said “oh that’s the wrong speech”.
He wants to stay in charge despite no longer being the leader of the ruling party.
Mugabe has now finished speaking... there was no hint of a resignation in his address.
He says “we cannot be guided by bitterness”
Mugabe says he believes the concerns were raised in the “spirit of honesty and out of deep and patriotic concern for the stability of our nation and welfare of our people”.
President Mugabe says “the government remains committed to improving this social and material conditions of the people”.
He has acknowledged that the country’s economy is going through a “difficult patch”.
Updated
He says “the pillars of state remained functional” amid the crisis, in which Zimbabweans rallied by the tens of thousands against him and ruling party leaders told him to step aside or face impeachment.
Mugabe is poised to step down after 37 years in power making him the world’s oldest head of state.
He says that Zimbabwe needs to “return to normalcy”.
A frail Mugabe reads his statement slowly and pauses frequently.
Mugabe says army intervention was “triggered by concerns arising from their reading of the state of affairs in our country and in the ruling Zanu-PF party”.
Mugabe says a meeting with the military leaders today has made him aware of issues that need to be addressed in the country.
Mugabe has begun speaking on state television.
Zimbabwe state broadcaster is ZBC is now broadcasting live as Mugabe prepares to make his statement.
Updated
The Guardian’s Africa correspondent Jason Burke is tweeting from Johannesburg as the nation is poised for historic address.
if ZBC sold advertising for the mid-speech break they could clear Zimbabwe’s national debt. #biggestaudienceever #Mugabespeech
— Jason Burke (@burke_jason) November 19, 2017
Updated
Summary
- Zimbabwe’s president Robert Mugabe is resigning after nearly four decades in power, according to a source close to the negotiations.
- The ruling Zanu-PF party sacked him as its leader after 37 years in power.
- The party said if he did not resign as the country’s president by noon on Monday it would start impeachment proceedings.
- Zimbabwe’s Herald newspaper showed pictures of the 93-year-old meeting top generals at his State House offices.
- Mugabe has been under house arrest since the military moved in on Tuesday, angered by his firing of his longtime deputy and the positioning of unpopular first lady Grace Mugabe to succeed him.
- The president tried to buy time in negotiations with the military on a dignified exit but quickly found himself isolated.
- Zanu-PF is to appoint the former vice-president fired by Mugabe – Emmerson Mnangagwa – as its new leader.
- Mugabe’s controversial second wife Grace, once tipped as his successor, has been expelled from the party.
- Zimbabwe’s state broadcaster ZBC is reporting that a statement from Mugabe will air shortly ...
Updated
Sky News is reporting that Mugabe’s resignation statement is pre-recorded and has already been prepared.
Chris Mutsvangwa, head of Zimbabwe’s liberation war veterans, earlier on Sunday vowed to “bring back the crowd” if Robert Mugabe did not step aside, but said he was concerned that the military would end up opening fire to protect Mugabe from protesters.
“We would expect that Mugabe would not have the prospect of the military shooting at people, trying to defend him,” Mutsvangwa said. “The choice is his.”
Updated
ITV correspondent Richard Gaisford has tweeted there may be a delay to Mugabe’s speech amid chaos inside State House.
Am told there may be a delay to #Mugabe speech - because he is refusing to show it to anyone before he delivers it. Chaos inside State House #Harare apparently.
— Richard Gaisford (@richardgaisford) November 19, 2017
Updated
Guardian and Observer correspondent Emma Graham-Harrison tweets from Harare:
New Era for #TeamZanuPF — (they had the T-shirts out before Mugabe was) pic.twitter.com/xEU8kHnVnS
— Emma Graham-Harrison (@_EmmaGH) November 19, 2017
Comrade Bob and Grace may go, but little good will come if power is retained in the hands of Zanu-PF septuagenarians, writes our Africa correspondent.
Updated
Reuters is reporting that Robert Mugabe has agreed to resign as Zimbabwe’s president, citing a source familiar with the negotiations.
The ruling Zanu-PF party had given the 93-year-old less than 24 hours to quit as head of state or face impeachment, an attempt to secure a peaceful end to his tenure after a de facto coup.
The source said the military was working on a resignation statement by Mugabe, without giving details.
State broadcaster ZBC said Mugabe would address the nation shortly.
Earlier on Sunday, pictured were published by the official Herald newspaper of Mugabe meeting top generals at his State House offices.
Updated
Robert Mugabe is expected to address Zimbabwe to announce his resignation as president after the ruling party gave him until noon on Monday to step down or face impeachment.
In an extraordinary meeting in Harare, the capital, on Sunday morning more than 200 Zanu-PF leaders voted to sack Mugabe as the party’s leader and demanded that the 93-year-old resign as head of state.
Here is our live coverage of Mugabe’s departure after 37 years as Zimbabwe’s leader, the only one the country has had since gaining independence from Britain.
._Patrick_s_Day_Parade_94380.jpg?w=600)
