LEAD: Tens of thousands march to demand end of President Mugabe's rule

18 Novembre 2017

Harare, Zimbabwe, November 18 (Infosplusgabon) - Tens of thousands of Zimbabweans on Saturday poured into the streets of cities across the country to celebrate Wednesday's take over of the country by the military and demand that beleaguered President Robert Mugabe must step down.

The liberation hero, who led Zimbabwe to independence in 1980 and economic success in the initial stages, was clearly painted as a villain as the crowd chanted for him, his wife, Grace, and inner ruling elite to leave.

The "Solidarity" rallies are a big boost for the military as it negotiates the departure of President Mugabe.

They carried placards some of which read "Zimbabwe Army The Voice of the People", "Mugabe Out", "Not Coup but Cool", "Mugabe Mjust Go". They also carried portraits of the head of the Zimbabwe Defence Force (ZDF) General Constantino Chiwenga, who they described as "the real liberator of Zimbabweans".

"It is time for Mugabe to go," said one man while a woman said she finds it difficult to feed her baby.

State broadcaster Zimbabwe Broadcasting Corporation (ZBC) said having ruled for the past 37 years, President Mugabe’s time could be over as people from all walks of life marched across the country calling for an end to his reign.

In Harare, the main Zimbabwe "Solidarity Rally" was at the Zimbabwe Grounds in Highfield, but thousands marched toRobert Mugabe Square opposite Rainbow Towers.

Business also came to a standstill in Bulawayo and Victoria Falls as thousands expressed themselves in an "unprecedented way", ZBC reported.

Many high profile citizens, who had fallen out with President Mugabe, as well as representatives of political parties, including former Vice President Joice Mujuru addressed the crowd.

ZBC said speakers at the rallies were unanimous in calling for an end to President Mugabe’s rule, which they described as characterised by economic hardships, protection of thieves around him and failure to deliver on the expectations of the Zimbabwean populace and war veterans. They also accused him of trying to create a dynasty by appointing his wife as Vice President.

Some called for the investigation of First Lady for crimes she has allegedly committed and the arrest of the ‘thieves’ the First Family has been protecting.

Another prominent participant on Saturday was Pastor Evan Mawarire, whose "This Flag" campaign to draw attention to the deplorable conditions in the country has landed him in court.

The rallies are a huge boost for the military who took over the country last Wednesday after sending amoured vehicles into the capital on Tuesday evening.

The rallies have been organised by war veterans, who for decades were the backbone of President Mugabe and his government.

Today, however, they called Zimbabweans out in Harare, and other cities and towns to protest against him and demand his resignation. Indeed, ordinary Zimbweans, many of who were born after President Mugabe came to power, want him to leave the scene because of the hardships in the country.

With the popularity of President Mugabe at its lowest ever, Zimbabweans from all walks of life, including the youths, political parties, war veterans and civil society organisations are supporting the military take over.

President Mugabe who has been under house arrest was on Friday allowed to attend the graduation ceremony of the Zimbabwe Open University in Harare.

The leadership of the Zimbabwe Defence Forces (ZDF) and a delegation of the regional grouping Southern African Development Community (SADC) have been negotiating the exit of President Mugabe. Unconfirmed media reports say he has been resisting calls to exit. There have been no details of the negotations.

ZDF on Friday approved the solidarity rally in support of their action to "stabilise the econmomy, defuse political instability" and ask for the resignation of President Mugabe.

It said in a statement on Friday that it had aproved the "Solidarity" rallies "for as long as the planned march remains orderly, peaceful and in tandem with the fundamental bill of rights and within the confines of the country’s constitution and without hate speech and incitement to cause violence, it fully supports the march".

But the writing is on the wall for President Mugabe to leave office. Eight out of 10 Provincial Coordinating Committees (PCC) of Zimbabwe's ruling ZANU-PF party have called on him to step down as president of the country and President and First Secretary of the party, the state broadcaster reported on Friday.

They said in separate resolutions that President Mugabe, 93, has lost control of the party and government business due to "incapacitation stemming from his advanced age".

The resolutions also said President Mugabe had allowed the formation of cabals and called for the convening of a special central committee meeting within 48 hours to discuss the current political situation.

They called for the renunciation of the "G40 cabal", and resolved that there be a revocation and annulment of the suspensions and expulsions that took place after the party’s 2014 congress. G40, or "Generation 40", is a group within the party that is made up of the youth who did not fight the liberation war. Zimbabwe became independent in 1980.

The resolution also proposed that Vice President Emmerson Mnangagwa, nicknamed 'Crocodile', who was fired last week from his post and the party, be allowed to retain his post in the party.

The Zimbabwean situation follows a bitter power struggle within the ruling ZANU-PF which culminated in the dismissal last week of vice president Emmerson Mnangagwa from his post and the party, putting President Mugabe's wife, Grace, in pole position to assume the post and therefore succeed the 93-year-old president. There has been no word of the whereabouts of the First Lady.

Many countries and organisations have not condemned the military action outright. They have stressed that there should be no change of government outside the ballot box. Significantly, the military have said it is not a coup, they have not suspended the counstitution and have contined to refer to Mugabe as president and commandef-in-chief of the Armed Forces.

They are therefore using the laid down procedure - get the ruling party to recall President Mugabe and form an interim government of national unity that would hold elections.

Rex Tillerson, US Secretary of State, in a statement said there was the need to work together for a quick return to civilian rule in the country in accordance with their constitution.

"Zimbabwe has an opportunity to set itself on a new path – one that must include democratic elections and respect for human rights," he said.

"Ultimately, the people of Zimbabwe must choose their government. In our conversations today, we have an opportunity to discuss concrete ways that we could help them through this transition," he added.

All said, President Mugabe is visibly hobbling to the end of his rule.

FIN/INFOSPLUSGABON/ATP/ GABON 2017

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