Mugabe avoids resignation, party moves to impeach him

The President is now in direct confrontation with parliament as well as the military. He was given an ultimatum by Zanu-PF, after being removed from office, that he would face impeachment unless he resigned by midday on Monday.

Mugabe was widely expected to stand down in a speech made through state broadcasters this evening. While mentioning errors which have been made by the government in the 14-minute speech , he gave no hint of resigning, insisting instead that he would oversee the needed reforms. He also held that he would preside over a special congress of Zanu-PF next month. "We cannot be guided by bitterness or revengefulness which would not makes us any better ... Zimbabweans" he wanted to stress.

The 93-year-old President's address was given surrounded by military commanders who had placed him and his wife, Grace, under house arrest following a coup which began last Tuesday. Mugabe stumbled over his words, mixed up the pages and apologised for re-reading some of the passages. At the end he appeared to say to an aide "that was a long speech". The farcical nature of what has unfolded led to questions on social media about whether what he actually said was "that was the wrong speech".

What he did say, however, led to furious reaction from his critics. The head of the organisation of veterans who fought against white rule accused Mugabe of being "deaf and blind" to the will of the people. Christopher Mutsvangwa had warned earlier today of the risk of violence if the President did not step down: "We would expect that Mugabe would not have the prospect of the military shooting at people trying to defend him, the choice is really his, he cannot avoid it."

Impeachment proceedings are due to begin on Monday. Joshua Nhamburu, another veteran, warned: "There will be an end to people's patience."

Nhamburu had expected that and s Mugabe would be allowed to go into exile after the President stepped down. He added: "Mugabe has been given enough time now to make his arrangements and leave. His wife Grace, who is a thief, is also being allowed to go. They are both lucky that they are not looking at long years in jail, but their luck may run out soon if they continue acting in this way."

Mugabe's rapidly fading hopes of political survival now appears to lie with the African Union and Southern African Development Community (SADC) both of which have strong stances against military coups – a reaction to the repeated takeovers by armed forces of newly independent countries in the continent in the past.

That is the reason why General Chiwenga and the military hierarchy are trying to engineer a voluntary departure by Mugabe. But the appointment of Emmerson Mnangagwa by Zanu-PF as leader and acting President in waiting would, believe senior officers, counter accusations of a military takeover.

Mugabe did not blame the military for the coup, saying it was motivated by "a deep patriotic concern for the stability of the nation" which "did not amount to a threat to our well-cherished constitutional order". It is unlikely that the army would force him from office, opening the possibility of a long drawn-out impeachment process with popular anger spiralling in the streets.