Zimbabwe ruling party to kick out Mugabe today

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‍Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe‘s ruling Zanu-PF party will remove 93-year-old President Robert Mugabe as its leader at a special meeting of its central committee on Sunday and kick him out, the head of the powerful liberation war veterans said.

"There’s a central committee meeting (on Sunday) to endorse the resolutions reached by the provinces," said a government MP and a party official.

Chris Mutsvangwa, who has led the campaign to oust Zimbabwe's ruler for the last 37 years, also claimed the meeting would also reinstate ousted vice-president Emmerson Mnangagwa and remove Mugabe's wife, Grace, as head of the ZANU-PF Women's League.

President Robert Mugabe and his wife Grace Mugabe attend a rally of his ruling ZANU-PF party in Harare, Zimbabwe, November 8, 2017. /Reuters Photo

"We are going all the way," Mutsvangwa told Reuters as he headed into the meeting, adding that Mugabe should just resign and leave the country. "He's trying to bargain for a dignified exit but he should just smell the coffee and gap it."

The parliamentarian, who declined to be named, referred to the decision by eight of the party’s 10 regional committees on Friday to call for Mugabe to resign as president and party leader.

"Yes, we are meeting (Sunday) to endorse the decisions of the nine provinces," said a party official who confirmed that a further region had called on Mugabe to go since Friday night’s announcement.

"We are also recalling him as the president and first secretary of the party," said the source who also declined to be named.

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

The meeting comes after tens of thousands of overjoyed protesters flooded Zimbabwe’s streets on Saturday, celebrating the crumbling of Mugabe’s ruthless regime.

The mass turnout came after an unprecedented week in which the military seized power and put Mugabe under house arrest in response to his sacking of Mnangagwa.

The 93-year-old leader is also set to meet military commanders for talks on Sunday, state broadcaster ZTV said on Saturday, quoting Catholic priest Fidelis Mukonori who has been mediating the negotiations.

Source(s): AFP ,Reuters