Mugabe Ignores Resignation Deadline, Putting Pressure on Parliament

Image

A rally in Harare, Zimbabwe, on Monday, where participants prayed for President Robert Mugabe to step down. Mr Mugabe ignored the deadline set for his resignation.CreditKim Ludbrook/European Pressphoto Agency

HARARE, Zimbabwe — A day after President Robert Mugabe of Zimbabwe stunned his nation by not announcing his resignation, the 93-year-old leader on Monday ignored an ultimatum from his own party demanding he step down.

The missed deadline, which was set by the ruling ZANU-PF party on Sunday, is expected to lead to a move by Parliament to impeach him — a process that could take weeks. The protracted negotiations between military leaders who seized power on Wednesday and Mr. Mugabe have frustrated Zimbabweans who had hoped for a quick resolution to the standoff.

Though visibly enfeebled, Mr. Mugabe has shown the negotiating skills that have kept him in power for 37 years. Allies of the military and Emmerson Mnangagwa, the vice president whose firing triggered the chain of events leading to the military intervention, urged lawmakers to impeach the president as soon as possible.

“We want him out of office immediately,” Christopher Mutsvangwa, the powerful head of the war veterans association, said at a news conference on Monday, urging ruling party lawmakers to work with the opposition to remove the president.

He added that war veterans, who helped organize a rally against Mr. Mugabe on Saturday, would stage another one in the coming days.

Despite such calls, Mr. Mugabe’s swift removal is running into obstacles.

Military officers have insisted their takeover was not a coup, and have tried to give their intervention a veneer of legality — portraying it as an attempt to save the ailing Mr. Mugabe from a faction led by his wife, Grace, that had effectively seized control of the government.

But to complete this picture of legality, they need Mr. Mugabe’s cooperation — a fact that the president clearly understands and is exploiting as he reportedly negotiates his future and that of his family.

The quandary also helps explain the continued absence of Mr. Mnangagwa, who had been engaged in a long-running feud with the president’s wife. Mr. Mugabe had taken his wife’s side by firing Mr. Mnangagwa and then trying to have the nation’s top military commander, Gen. Constantino Chiwenga, arrested. That led to the military intervention.

Military leaders have taken great pains to remove any trace of Mr. Mnangagwa’s involvement in the intervention itself, clearly believing that it would damage him politically as he moves to succeed Mr. Mugabe.

Mr. Mnangagwa has not been seen in public since he was fired. He has yet to return to Zimbabwe even though ZANU-PF named him as its new leader on Sunday, after expelling Mr. Mugabe from its ranks.

Video

In a 20-minute speech to the African nation on Sunday night, President Robert Mugabe, flanked by members of the military, refused to say whether he would resign after nearly 40 years in power.Published OnNov. 19, 2017CreditImage by Ben Curtis/Associated Press

His absence has become conspicuous, leaving some allies struggling to explain.

Tshinga Dube, a former war veterans minister and an ally of Mr. Mnangagwa, said the former vice president was still in South Africa on Monday. Asked why he had not returned after being named the new head of ZANU-PF, Mr. Dube said, “Well, it’s only yesterday.”

Questioned as to whether Mr. Mnangagwa would return soon, Mr. Dube said, “Yes, yes, very soon. Maybe even this week, maybe.”

Simon Khaya Moyo, ZANU-PF’s spokesman, said he had “no idea” when Mr. Mnangagwa would return. Asked why the party’s new leader had not returned already, Mr. Moyo replied testily, “I don’t know.”

On Nov. 6, some hours after he was fired, Mr. Mnangagwa decided to flee Zimbabwe, fearing arrest or worse, according to allies. In an escape worthy of his background as a liberation war veteran and his nickname, the Crocodile, he apparently outmaneuvered Mr. Mugabe’s security forces, though he came very close to being caught.

Mr. Mnangagwa had private planes belonging to friends ready to take off at the airport, creating the impression that he would fly out of Zimbabwe, said Mr. Mutsvangwa, the head of the war veterans association. Instead, Mr. Mnangagwa drove in a single vehicle toward neighboring Mozambique, where he has strong military ties, accompanied by a son and a young assistant.

In a televised speech on Sunday, Mr. Mugabe acknowledged problems in the nation — and vowed to soldier on.CreditZinyange Auntony/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images

Wearing a cap, Mr. Mnangagwa, 75, had his passport stamped at the border, but was then recognized by a police officer, Mr. Mutsvangwa said. Mr. Mnangagwa’s son, a soldier, disarmed the officer, and their vehicle made a U-turn, speeding back into Zimbabwe. After a while, they stopped by the roadside. The young assistant drove the car back to Harare as Mr. Mnangagwa and his son left Zimbabwe on foot.

“It’s a land border, there’s no river, so they just used a bush path,” Mr. Mutsvangwa said. “So he walked into Mozambique, and, of course, Mozambican friends were waiting for him on the other side.”

“It wasn’t easy, he’s not young anymore,” Mr. Mutsvangwa said.

Though the impending end of the Mugabe era pleased most Zimbabweans, many remained cautious about Mr. Mnangagwa, who was long known for being the president’s ruthless enforcer.

“The way Mugabe has been running this country is the same way Mnangagwa is going to do it,” said Catherine Mukwapati, 34, who was walking in central Harare with her 3-year-old daughter.

Claris Madhuku, 38, who was sitting on a bench in Africa Unity Square, said he was skeptical of Mr. Mnangagwa’s close ties to the military. The former vice president, he added, had emerged victorious over a rival faction because his own “just fortunately won the backing of the army.”

Still, Mr. Madhuku was hopeful that the economy would improve under Mr. Mnangagwa, who has a reputation for pragmatism and for being open to outside investors.

“He will likely be a reformist in as far as the economy is concerned,” Mr. Madhuku said. “I just hope he will not continue with Mugabe’s destructive policies.”.

Follow Norimitsu Onishi and Jeffrey Moyo on Twitter: @onishinyt and @moyojeffrey.

Related Coverage

Mr. Mugabe stunned the nation with a nearly 20-minute address in which he refused to say whether he would resign.

How Mugabe’s 37-Year Reign Came Crashing Down in Days

“I remember the joy.” Readers reflect on life under Robert Mugabe, and their hopes for the future.

A Strongman Nicknamed ‘Crocodile’ Is Poised to Replace Mugabe

Charles Manson, Wild-Eyed Leader of a Murderous Crew, Dies at 83

Mr. Manson became one of the most notorious killers of the 20th century after his followers brutally murdered seven people in 1969, including the actress Sharon Tate.
Since then, the Manson family, as his band of young drifters was known, has occupied a dark, persistent place in American culture.

What’s Putting Americans in the Top 1 Percent

Dispelling misconceptions about what’s driving income inequality in the U.S.

How Mugabe’s 37-Year Reign Came Crashing Down in Days

Robert Mugabe, the only leader Zimbabwe has known since gaining independence in 1980, used guile and ruthlessness to rule with seemingly impervious strength.
Although he vowed that he wasn’t going anywhere in a televised address on Sunday, Mr. Mugabe has been stripped of his power and expelled from his party.

What happened to some of Mr. Manson’s most ardent followers?

Most of Charles Manson’s followers were young women who had fled middle-class homes. Here’s a look at where they are now.

How Politics and Bad Decisions Starved New York’s Subways

Disruptions and delays have roiled the system this year. But the crisis was long in the making, fueled by a litany of errors, a Times investigation shows.