Zimbabwe’s military was
in control of the country on Wednesday as President Robert Mugabe said he was
under house arrest, although generals denied staging a coup.
Mugabe’s decades-long
grip on power appeared to be fading as military vehicles blocked roads outside
the parliament in Harare and senior soldiers delivered a late-night television
address to the nation.
“The president… and his
family are safe and sound and their security is guaranteed,” Major General
Sibusiso Moyo said, slowly reading out a statement.
“We are only targeting
criminals around him who are committing crimes… As soon as we have accomplished
our mission we expect that the situation will return to normalcy.”
Moyo said: “This is not
a military takeover of government”.
But the generals’
actions posed a major challenge to the 93-year-old Mugabe, who has ruled
Zimbabwe since independence from Britain in 1980.
Neighbouring South
Africa’s President Jacob Zuma, one of Mugabe’s closest allies, said he had
spoken to the veteran leader by telephone.
Mugabe “indicated that
he was confined to his home but said that he was fine,” the South African
government said in a statement that called for calm and restraint.
Tensions between Mugabe
and the military establishment, which has long helped prop up his authoritarian
rule, erupted in public over recent weeks.
The ruling ZANU-PF party
on Tuesday accused army chief General Constantino Chiwenga of “treasonable
conduct” after he criticised Mugabe for sacking vice president Emmerson
Mnangagwa.
Government silence
Mnangagwa’s dismissal left Mugabe’s wife Grace, 52, in prime position to succeed her husband as the next president — a succession strongly opposed by senior ranks in the military.
Mnangagwa’s dismissal left Mugabe’s wife Grace, 52, in prime position to succeed her husband as the next president — a succession strongly opposed by senior ranks in the military.
As the situation
deteriorated overnight, prolonged gunfire was heard near Mugabe’s private residence.
On Wednesday, the TV
state broadcaster played liberation struggle songs, while many citizens in
Harare shopped at markets, drove to work or queued outside banks despite the
turmoil.
The US embassy warned
its citizens in the country to “shelter in place” due to “ongoing political
uncertainty”.
South Africa urged
Zimbabwe to resist any “unconstitutional changes” of government, and said it
was sending envoys to Harare on behalf of the SADC bloc of southern African
nations to help resolve the impasse.
President Mugabe and
Grace made no public comment and their exact whereabouts was not known, while
government and army spokesmen were not available to comment.
“The government’s
silence on the military deployments seem to confirm that President Mugabe has lost
control of the situation,” Robert Besseling, of the London-based EXX Africa
risk consultancy, said.
Mugabe is the world’s
oldest head of state, but his poor health has fuelled a bitter succession
battle as potential replacements jockey for position.
In speeches this year,
Mugabe has often slurred his words, mumbled and paused for long periods.
His lengthy rule has
been marked by brutal repression of dissent, mass emigration, vote-rigging and
economic collapse since land reforms in 2000.
– Grace’s ambitions-
Speculation has been rife in Harare that Mugabe had sought to remove army chief Chiwenga, who is seen as an ally of ousted Mnangagwa.
Speculation has been rife in Harare that Mugabe had sought to remove army chief Chiwenga, who is seen as an ally of ousted Mnangagwa.
Mnangagwa, 75, was
previously one of Mugabe’s most loyal lieutenants, having worked alongside him
for decades.
Earlier this year
Zimbabwe was gripped by a bizarre spat between Grace and Mnangagwa that
included an alleged ice-cream poisoning incident that laid bare the pair’s
rivalry.
Grace Mugabe — 41 years
younger than her husband — has become increasingly active in public life in
what many say was a process to help her eventually take the top job.
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