Zimbabwe's President Robert
Mugabe came under increasing pressure to quit after his ruling party
said Monday it was prepared to force the defiant leader from power by
moving to impeach him.
In a televised address late Sunday, the 93-year-old
president flouted expectations he would step down after a military
takeover, pitching the country into a second week of political crisis.
Lawmakers from his ruling ZANU-PF party said that
they would take the first steps on Tuesday necessary to push Mugabe from
office after the veteran leader ignored their ultimatum he resign by
1000 GMT Monday.
"We want to get rid of this animal called Mugabe, he
must go. We have the numbers, the opposition is also going to support
us," said ZANU-PF MP Vongai Mupereri.
"We have got a clear position, we are going to
impeach -- the man has to go," said another government MP, MacKenzie
Ncube, speaking to AFP after a key meeting of ruling party lawmakers.
Once a simple majority of parliamentarians vote for
impeachment, an investigative committee is formed by lawmakers, who
report back to both houses of parliament. Each house must then vote by a
two-thirds majority for him to be stripped of office.
Mugabe's weekend speech capped an extraordinary
weekend that saw Zimbabweans celebrate while also venting their anger in
ways that would have been brutally repressed just a week ago.
But their joy quickly turned to despair as Mugabe
brushed aside the turmoil, blithely declaring on Sunday he would chair a
top-level meeting of the party that had just disavowed him.
Hundreds of noisy demonstrators gathered at the University of Zimbabwe in Harare on Monday to call for Mugabe to stand down.
- 'He's lost his marbles' -
Morgan Tsvangirai, the leader of the main opposition
Movement for Democratic Change, called Mugabe's speech a "complete
reversal of the people's expectations".
"The so-called negotiation with the army did not produce the dignified exit that the nation was expecting."
Chris Mutsvangwa, head of the influential war
veterans' association, called for less restrained protests than those
staged at the weekend in an effort to dislodge Mugabe.
"He's lost his marbles," he said.
Though Mugabe has struggled with public speaking in
recent years, the wily statesman appeared alert and attentive as he
delivered his address.
"It might take days and weeks, but Mugabe is on his way out," said Charles Muramba, a 46-year-old bus driver.
The crisis erupted on November 13 after a factional squabble over the presidential succession erupted into the open.
Mugabe's wife Grace, 52, secured prime
position to succeed him when 75-year-old vice president Emmerson
Mnangagwa, who is close to the military leadership, was fired.
After Mnangagwa fled abroad, the army took over the country and placed Mugabe under house arrest.
The army insists it has not carried out a
coup, but rather a police action to arrest allegedly corrupt supporters
of the highly ambitious first lady.
When Mugabe refused to step down following behind-the-scenes talks, the generals unleashed people power.
In scenes reminiscent of Zimbabwe's
independence in 1980, crowds packed the cities, waving flags and
chanting for Mugabe to resign.
On Sunday ZANU-PF dismissed him as its leader and demanded he resign as head of state, naming Mnangagwa as the new party chief.
- Unruffled -
Mugabe seemed unfazed in his speech and made
no reference to the hostile chorus calling for him to go, describing
last week's dramatic military intervention as "no threat" to his rule.
Chris Vandome, an analyst at the Chatham House think-tank, warned that further delays heightened the risk of disorder.
"They will start impeaching him (Tuesday),
that is certainly the will of the military, but it's increasingly now
the will of the people," he told AFP.
"The longer this goes on for, the more the likelihood of violence increases."
Some sources suggest Mugabe has been battling
to delay his exit in order to secure a deal that would guarantee future
protection for him and his family.
Mugabe was a key figure in the war for independence and took office as prime minister in 1980, riding a wave of goodwill.
But his reputation was swiftly tarnished by his authoritarian instincts, rights abuses and economic ineptitude.
Britain, Zimbabwe's former colonial ruler, urged "everyone to refrain from violence".
"What
does appear clear is that Mugabe has lost the support of the people and
of his party," British Prime Minister Theresa May's official spokesman
said.
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