PREMIUM FREE TRIAL JOHANNESBURG — Scenes of jubilation in Zimbabwe exploded onto the streets on Tuesday early evening as Robert Mugabe submitted a resignation letter to Parliament amid a vote of no-confidence in him. The fact that it’s taken 37 years for Mugabe to quit is incredible and sobering. But, finally, Zimbabwe has a chance to start over. What happens next is critical – the country and its citizens need to ensure that this jubilant moment isn’t wasted. An African Spring is potentially upon us. – Gareth van Zyl
By Brian Latham, Godfrey Marawanyika and Desmond Kumbuka
(Bloomberg) – Robert Mugabe’s near four-decade reign as the strongman of Zimbabwe ended on Tuesday, when he submitted a letter of resignation to parliament, House of Assembly speaker Jacob Mudenda announced.
Mudenda announced Mugabe’s resignation during a joint sitting of lawmakers in Harare, the capital, called to vote on a motion of impeachment of the 93-year-old leader, who was the world’s oldest-serving leader.
Jubilant crowds are cheering in central Harare as Zimbabweans celebrate the resignation of Robert Mugabe after 37 years as president https://t.co/E09fvNhsV7 pic.twitter.com/jaNLKnckJi
— CNN (@CNN) November 21, 2017
Mugabe’s resignation came days after the Zimbabwe African National Union-Patriotic Front party fired him as its leader and ordered him to step down. Emmerson Mnangagwa, 75, who Mugabe dismissed as vice president this month, will take over as interim leader and be Zanu-PF’s presidential candidate in elections next year, the party said.
|