Zimbabwe’s ruling political party has fired President Robert Mugabe as its leader and has determined that he has until Monday to officially end his term of nearly forty years as the country’s ruler, CNN reports.
Mugabe, who is 93 years old, is known for co-creating the ZANU-PF party, which aims “to establish and sustain a society that cherishes African values.” Party representatives ruled that if Mugabe does not resign by noon on Monday, they will begin procedures to impeach him. Mugabe’s wife Grace, who was seen as a possibility to step in as president if her husband was removed, has also been expelled from the ZANU-PF party.
Zimbabwe’s Robert Mugabe vows to stay on despite army pressure https://t.co/MrV7IRFJOH
— BBC News (World) (@BBCWorld) November 19, 2017
Movement to remove Mugabe from office has stirred up since Zimbabwe’s army seized power in the capital city Harare this past Wednesday. Now with the military in power, Mugabe has refused to sign a deal that would call for his resignation without being forced out of his position. On Saturday, thousands of protestors gathered in support of ousting Mugabe, but according to the Huffington Post, Mugabe’s nephew has said that Mugabe is firm in defending his job and is “ready to die for what is correct.”
The ZANU-PF party has appointed Emmerson Mnangagwa, Mugabe’s former vice president who he fired earlier this month, as the group’s new leader. Despite all signs pointing to a formal resignation, Mugabe addressed the nation on Sunday night without announcing his exit, Bloomberg Politics reports.