Zimbabwe ruling party draws up motion to impeach Mugabe

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Zimbabwe ruling party ZANU-PF on Monday drew up a draft motion to impeach President Robert Mugabe, after the noon deadline (1000 GMT) given to the president to resign passed.

The draft said he has created instability by dismissing members of his cabinet, accused him of disrespecting the rule of law, and blamed him for an economic tailspin over the past 15 years.

Lawmakers from Zimbabwe's main opposition party MDC will hold a meeting on Tuesday to decide whether to join their ruling party rivals to impeach the 93-year-old, the minority chief whip said.

The president shocked the nation in a televised address on Sunday with pledges to preside over next month's ZANU-PF party congress, in spite of a recent party vote to remove him as president.

Zimbabwe's military took control of the country on Wednesday following Mugabe’s dismissal of his vice president Emmerson Mnangagwa earlier this month, in a move that was widely seen as paving the way for Mugabe’s wife Grace to succeed him.

According to US media outlet CNN, Mugabe has already agreed to the terms of his resignation, which reportedly grant him and his wife Grace full political immunity.

War veterans threaten more mass protests

The influential Zimbabwe National Liberation War Veterans Association (ZNLWVA) called on Sunday for more protests until Mugabe steps down following the televised address in which the embattled president defied expectations he would resign.

Protesters calling for Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe to step down take to the streets in Harare, Zimbabwe, November 18, 2017. /Reuters Photo

"That speech has nothing to do with realities. We will go for impeachment and we are calling people back to the streets," said Chris Mutsvangwa, head of the influential association.

"If Mugabe refuses to step down, we are going back to the people and calling on them to come back onto the streets. Last time about 1.5 million people participated in the streets and this time we want even more support. We will stage a sit-in until Mugabe is gone. We will not leave Harare until he is gone," Mutsvangwa added.

Review of key players in the crisis

It is hard to say whether the recent political upheaval is the ancient grudge between 93-year-old Mugabe and his obedient aide of 40 years, Emmerson Mnangagwa, or if it is the consequence of an unbalanced relationship between the government and the military.

After being sacked as vice-president and dismissed from the parliament this week, Mnangagwa decided to snap back, and quickly. He called in a favor from his close ally in the army, defense force commander General Constantino Chiwenga, and put the president in house arrest on Wednesday.

Another key figure at the center of the storm is the president's wife Grace Mugabe, who depends solely on her husband's support in her political ambitions. Grace is not very respected among Zimbabweans; however, she has shown great confidence in getting elected as vice president as soon as her husband survives the "little bump".

Looking back on Mugabe's rule of almost four decades, he seems to have a way of getting out of political turmoil.

In 2008 elections, Mugabe's ZANU-PF party lost its parliamentary majority. He was defeated by opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai in the presidential vote.

Mugabe was forced to form a power-sharing government and named his rival as prime minister. But Tsvangirai never managed to dent ZANU-PF's dominance.

In 2013, Mugabe's party abolished the prime minister's post and passed a new constitution.

But the recent political crisis has given the opposition hope again, and they are planning to continue their democratic campaigns once Mugabe is ousted.

Profile of Mugabe

The Zimbabwean leader has had health problems, and many believe his wife Grace is helping him with some government affairs. However, Mugabe is still the oldest and most influential politician in the country – he has been serving as president since 1987.

Mugabe previously led Zimbabwe as prime minister from 1980 to 1987. He formed his political party Zimbabwe African National Union–Patriotic Front in 1980. The party won an absolute majority in the Zimbabwean parliament in the same year.

In August 1977, he was officially declared the president of Zimbabwe African National Union. Mugabe was sentenced to 21 months in prison from 1963 to 1964 due to his objections to the government at the time.

He spent his early political career abroad from 1960-1963, when he joined an anti-colonialist African nationalist movement in Southern Rhodesia.