Zimbabwe’s Mugabe ignores calls to quit, faces impeachment
HARARE, Zimbabwe — Zimbabweans mobilized Monday for what they hope is a major push to oust President Robert Mugabe, an increasingly isolated figure who faces impeachment proceedings and more street demonstrations even as he ignores calls to resign.
While there is a national consensus that the 93-year-old president should go after nearly four decades in power, Mugabe has refused to step down as leader of a country that has known no other leader since independence from white minority rule in 1980.
The conflicted role of the military, widely hailed as a saviour after effectively stripping Mugabe of his authority last week, is under scrutiny after its generals flanked him during a televised address Sunday night in which he asserted that he remained the “commander in chief” and referred to “our well-cherished constitutional order.”
The generals have been involved in talks with him on a way out of the leadership crisis. While they acted outside his authority by sending tanks into the streets, they also projected deference in sitting by at the official residence, State House, as Mugabe told the nation he was still in charge.