Robert Mugabe resigns, ending 37-year reign over Zimbabwe

Ousted Zimbabwe Vice-President Emmerson Mnangagwa will take over as leader within 48 hours after Robert Mugabe resigns.

People remove the portrait of former Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe after his resignation in Harare. Picture: AFP.

Zimbabwe’s President Robert Mugabe, who once vowed to rule for life, resigned today, succumbing to a week of overwhelming pressure from the military that put him under house arrest, politicians from the ruling party and opposition who started impeachment proceedings and a population that surged into the streets to say 37 years in power was enough.

The capital, Harare, erupted in jubilation after news spread that the 93-year- old leader’s resignation letter had been read out by the speaker of parliament, whose members had gathered to impeach Mr Mugabe after he ignored escalating calls to quit since a military takeover. Well into the night, cars honked and people danced and sang in a spectacle of free expression that would have been impossible during his years in power, whose early promise after the end of white minority rule in 1980 was overtaken by economic collapse, government dysfunction and human rights violations.

“Welcome to the new Zimbabwe!” people chanted outside the conference centre where the politicians had met. “This is the best day of my life,” one man declared.

Euphoric citizens celebrated on top of cars, clustered around a tank and shook hands with soldiers who were hailed as saviours for their role in dislodging Mugabe, a once-formidable politician who crushed dissent or sidelined opponents but, in the end, was a lonely figure abandoned by virtually all his allies. “Change was overdue. ... Maybe this change will bring jobs,” said 23-year-old Thomas Manase, an unemployed university graduate.

It was a call echoed by many, and which pointed to the challenges ahead for Zimbabwe, which used to be a regional breadbasket but has since suffered hyperinflation, cash shortages, chronic mismanagement and massive joblessness. And, while Zimbabweans seemed almost universally united in their wish to see an end to the Mugabe era, the hard work of building institutions and preparing for what they hope are free and fair elections scheduled for next year has yet to begin.

Mr Mugabe, who was the world’s oldest head of state, said in his resignation letter that legal procedures should be followed to install a new president “no later than tomorrow.” “My decision to resign is voluntary on my part and arises from my concern for the welfare of the people of Zimbabwe and my desire for a smooth, nonviolent transfer of power,” Mr Mugabe said in the message read out by parliamentary speaker Jacob Mudenda.

People wave national flags as they celebrate outside the parliament in Harare, after the resignation of Zimbabwe's president Robert Mugabe. Picture: AFP.

Recently ousted Vice President Emmerson Mnangagwa was to take over as the country’s leader within 48 hours so that he can move “with speed to work for the country,” said a ruling party official, Lovemore Matuke. Mnangagwa, who fled the country after his Nov. 6 firing, “is not far from here,” Mr Matuke added. Mr Mugabe’s resignation ended impeachment proceedings brought by the ruling ZANU-PF party after its Central Committee voted to oust him as party leader and replace him with Mr Mnangagwa, a former justice and defence minister who served for decades as Mr Mugabe’s enforcer, a role that earned him the moniker, “Crocodile.” Many opposition supporters detest Mr Mnangagwa and believe he was instrumental in the army killings of thousands of people when Mr Mugabe moved against a political rival in the 1980s.

So far, Mr Mnangagwa has used inclusive language, saying in a statement before Mr Mugabe’s resignation that all Zimbabweans should work together to advance their nation.

“Never should the nation be held at ransom by one person ever again, whose desire is to die in office at whatever cost to the nation,” Mr Mnangagwa said.

Zimbabwe’s military commander, Gen. Constantino Chiwenga, warned people not to target old adversaries following Mr Mugabe’s resignation. “Acts of vengeful retribution or trying to settle scores will be dealt with severely,” he said. U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres urged Zimbabweans to maintain calm.

The U.S. Embassy in Zimbabwe said Mugabe’s resignation “marks an historic moment” and that “the path forward” should lead to free and fair elections. British Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson said Mugabe was “a despot who impoverished his country” and his exit is a “moment of joy” for Zimbabwe.

Breaking News -President Mugabe resigns! Speaker of Parliament Jacob Mudenda announced at a joint sitting of The House of Assembly and The Senate that a new President would be announced. He read the resignation letter by President Robert Mugabe... https://t.co/UmuYDmlF19

— ZANU PF (@ZANUPF_Official) November 21, 2017

The end for Mr Mugabe came when his wife, Grace Mugabe, positioned herself to succeed her husband, leading a party faction that engineered Mnangagwa’s ouster. The prospect of a dynastic succession alarmed the military, which confined Mugabe to his home last week and targeted what it called “criminals” around him who allegedly were looting state resources — a reference to associates of the first lady.

In his early days as leader, after a long war between black guerillas and the white rulers of Rhodesia, as Zimbabwe was known before independence, Mugabe stressed education and built new schools. Tourism and mining flourished. But in 2000, violent seizures of thousands of white-owned farms began, causing agricultural production to plunge. A land reform program was supposed to take much of the country’s most fertile land and redistribute it to poor blacks, but Mugabe instead gave prime farms to ZANU-PF leaders and loyalists, relatives and cronies.

As the years went by, Mugabe was widely accused of hanging onto power through violence and vote fraud, notably in a 2008 election that led to a troubled coalition government after regional mediators intervened. Still, he cast himself as a voice of pride and defiance in modern Africa, a message that resonated in many countries that had experienced Western colonialism or intervention. Mugabe once said he wanted to rule for life, expressing a desire to live until he is 100 years old. He also said he was ready to retire if asked to do so by his supporters.

A year ago, he said: “If I am to retire, let me retire properly.”

World leaders react:

• British Prime Minister Theresa May: “The resignation of Robert Mugabe provides Zimbabwe with an opportunity to forge a new path free of the oppression that characterised his rule.” She offered British support as “Zimbabwe’s oldest friend”.

• The US Embassy in Zimbabwe: The resignation “marks an historic moment” for the country and “whatever short-term arrangements the government may establish, the path forward must lead to free, fair and inclusive elections”.

• British Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson: Robert Mugabe was “a despot who impoverished his country” and his exit is a “moment of joy” for Zimbabwe.

• Australian Foreign Minister Julie Bishop: Mr Mugabe was a tyrant who used fear and violence to maintain brutal rule over the Zimbabwean people over decades.

“I was in Zimbabwe as a commonwealth electoral observer for the 2000 and the 2002 elections, and he used the military and the police to crush his opposition,” Ms Bishop told ABC radio.

“There was state-sponsored violence and intimidation and it continued.

“I think the tragedy is that a once-strong economy was utterly trashed as he drove commercial farmers off their land and gave it to his cronies and the Zimbawean economy tanked, and once it had had such enormous potential to deliver a good standard of living for Zimbabweans.

“There was so much corruption and mismanagement it was overwhelming.

“President Mugabe promised so much as an independence leader, but he badly let down the people of Zimbabwe in a most tragic way. He’s now at last lost the support of Zanu-PF, his party, and the Zimbabwean people at last have the chance to rebuild a better society.”

Ms Bishop said she was concerned that Mr Mugabe’s replacement in waiting, former vice-president Emmerson Mnangagawa, was part of the Zanu-PF party which had supported Mugabe for so long.

“We are urging all parties to remain peaceful and follow the constitution of Zimbabwe, the transition process,” Ms Bishop said.

“There are no threats to civil order currently, but I’m certainly concerned as to how this matter will play out.

“It has been a long time coming, and many countries including Australia have been highly critical of Zimbabwe for a very long time, but at last the people have an opportunity for important political change.”

Additional reporting: Rachel Baxendale