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72 lines
4.5 KiB
HTML
72 lines
4.5 KiB
HTML
7 years ago
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<p><span>Z</span>imbabwe President <a
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href="http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2017/11/17/zimbabwes-ruling-party-drafting-motion-fire-robert-mugabe-sunday/">Robert
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Mugabe</a>, his wife Grace and two key figures from her G40 political faction are under house arrest
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at Mugabe's "Blue House" compound in Harare and are insisting the 93 year-old finishes his
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presidential term, a source said.</p>
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<p>The G40 figures are cabinet ministers Jonathan Moyo and Saviour Kasukuwere, who fled to the compound
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after their homes were attacked by troops in Tuesday night's coup, the source, who said he had
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spoken to people inside the compound, told Reuters.</p>
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<p>Mr Mugabe is resisting mediation by a Catholic priest to allow the former guerrilla a graceful exit
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after the military takeover.</p>
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<p>The priest, Fidelis Mukonori, is acting as a middle-man between Mr Mugabe and the generals, <a
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href="http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2017/11/15/zimbabwe-crisis-have-spent-long-careful-really-change/">who
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seized power in a targeted operation against "criminals" in his entourage</a>, a senior political
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source told Reuters.</p>
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<p>The source could not provide details of the talks, which appear to be aimed at a smooth and bloodless
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transition after the departure of Mr Mugabe, who has led Zimbabwe since independence in 1980.</p>
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<p>Mr Mugabe, still seen by many Africans as a liberation hero, is reviled in the West as a despot whose
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disastrous handling of the economy and willingness to resort to violence to maintain power destroyed
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one of Africa's most promising states.</p>
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<p><span>Z</span>imbabwean intelligence reports seen by Reuters suggest that former security chief Emmerson
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Mnangagwa, who was ousted as vice-president this month, has been mapping out a post-Mugabe vision with
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the military and opposition for more than a year.</p>
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<p><span>F</span>uelling speculation that Mnangagwa's plan might be rolling into action, opposition
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leader Morgan Tsvangirai, who has been receiving cancer treatment in Britain and South Africa,
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returned to Harare late on Wednesday, his spokesman said.</p>
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<p>South Africa said Mr Mugabe had told President Jacob Zuma by telephone on Wednesday that he was
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confined to his home but was otherwise fine and the military said it was keeping him and his family,
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including wife Grace, safe.</p>
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<p><span>D</span>espite the lingering admiration for Mr Mugabe, there is little public affection for
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52-year-old Grace, a former government typist who started having an affair with Mr Mugabe in the
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early 1990s as his first wife, Sally, was dying of kidney disease.</p>
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<p>Dubbed "DisGrace" or "Gucci Grace" on account of her reputed love of shopping, she enjoyed a meteoric
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rise through the ranks of Mugabe's ruling Zanu-PF in the last two years, culminating in Mnangagwa's
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removal a week ago - a move seen as clearing the way for her to succeed her husband.</p>
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<p><span>I</span>n contrast to the high political drama unfolding behind closed doors, the streets of the
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capital remained calm, with people going about their daily business, albeit under the watch of soldiers
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on armoured vehicles at strategic locations.</p>
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<p><span>W</span>hatever the final outcome, the events could signal a once-in-a-generation change for the
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former British colony, a regional breadbasket reduced to destitution by economic policies Mr Mugabe's
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critics have long blamed on him.</p>
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