is gone, be put in place after mr mugabe is o . be put in place after mr mugabe is gone, in order to fix the democratic state and ensure the country starts off on state and ensure the country starts offona state and ensure the country starts off on a good foot. very briefly, are you expecting this to unfold peacefully, as it has until now? well, i do hope so. we have had struggles in the past, challenges in the past. i hope that zimbabwe is able to continue the peaceful path they have taken so far. yesterday we had a huge mass protest in harare on it was very peaceful. that was very positive and i hope that continues. alex magazisa, former adviser to the mdc leader, many thanks indeed for joining us on the bbc. are breaking news today, robert mugabe has been removed as president of zimba bwe's ruling mugabe has been removed as president of zimbabwe's ruling zanu—pf, but he is still president of the country. pressure very much building on him to step down, otherwise it looks as though he will be forced out as president of zimbabwe. this is bbc news. hello, this is bbc news. the head

but mugabe. we want elections. but mugabe has gone for ever. and the fa ct mugabe has gone for ever. and the fact the people are out here, they we re fact the people are out here, they were out on saturday in huge numbers, they are out again today, they cannot be put back. the genie cannot be put back on the bottle. you cannot put us back. no matter what our political difference, you cannot put us back, forward we go, backwards never. what you'd be doing tonight apart from staying out all night and celebrating? what else can ido? party night and celebrating? what else can i do? party all night! cannot wait! thank you so much for being with us. just one of the very happy people who was out there on the streets and has come up to talk to us. let's show you the scenes around parliament where that impeachment process had just begun but extraordinarily, it was halted after just a couple of hours because robert mugabe's resignation was read out in that letter. no one was expecting it. they filled the impeachment process would have to go on for quite

the day that robert mugabe resign. he led zimbabwe for 37 years, but with parliament about to impeach him, did the presidentjump before he was pushed? and joyous celebrations followed. people are chancing out on the streets tonight, releasing years of pent—up frustration at robert mugabe's increasingly autocratic rule. it is a happy day today, independence is finally here. this is the man likely to take over. two weeks ago, emmerson mnangagwa was sacked as vice president. in the next 48 hours, we expect him to become president. alas, the long—time opposition leader morgan sang the reich tells the bbc what should happen for the man he has fought for years. these were his last days, i don't feel any guilt or ill will at all. robert mugabe's presidency is history. as member of zimbabwe's parliament began debating whether to impeach the president, the speaker of the parliament interrupted. he had a letter of resignation to read. i hereby tender my resignation as president of the republic of zimbabwe with immediate effe

i, robert gabriel mugabe... robert gabriel mugabe was a revolutionary leader who fought in the liberation struggle against white minority rule. ..and beartrue allegiance to zimbabwe... his tight grip on power earned him the title of being the oldest head of state in the world. the 93—year—old leader has been in power since zimba bwe's independence in 1980. he has continued his life as an international statesman despite a diminishing reputation, as zimbabwe's economy crumbled amid corruption and violence. mugabe's rise to power began in 1979 when the lancaster house agreement ended white minority rule. at first, he protected minority rights. but in the 2000s he changed tack — he led a chaotic land reform programme, including redistributing land from white farmers without compensation. the country's economy collapsed with runaway inflation figures. the central bank printed money on a massive scale. supermarket shelves were empty. a loaf of bread would cost you trillions to buy. mugabe's misrule prompted wide

destroyed by mugabe. are you surprised that robert mugabe went in this way because he had been under so much pressure but hejust seemed to be so stubborn that he would not give into any of the pressure and then finally he did. his sense self dignity and pride has always been very important to him, anyone who had met him as i had done initially getting on well with him in 1990 as minister for africa because getting on well with him in 1990 as ministerfor africa because he knew i had been involved in the anti—apartheid struggle. anyone who met him knew that he had a lot of stubborn pride in himself. but in the end his big mistake i think was to try to create a mugabe dynasty in getting his wife extremely unpopular, in the country, and with the ruling zanu pf party that mugabe had controlled with an iron fist, that the party reacted against it and would not accept his wife being ushered in as his presidential replacement. and that was the source of the push within the party, i do not think you could descri

i, robert mugabe... mugabe's resignation came as a complete surprise. his letter was read out in parliament. we're here right at the moment that they've heard that robert mugabe has resigned from the presidency. and you can hear it from zanu—pf mp5, from opposition mps, from members of the public who've come here to witness what's happening. it happened as impeachment proceedings against 93—year—old mugabe were beginning after last week's military take over and days of protests. it isa it is a good steak for zimbabwe. this is a new era for our nation.” think the only time this is a new era for our nationli think the only time i will be able to comprehend what has just think the only time i will be able to comprehend what hasjust happened is whenl to comprehend what hasjust happened is when i wake up in the morning. for many people, mugabe is the only leader they've ever known. we'll be asking what now for zimbabwe? also tonight: police reveal dozens of prosecutions have been dropped after claims that thousands of test results were tampered with

i robert mugabe... his letter of resignation read out in parliament prompting scenes of surprise and joy. today, it is victory, it is the tree in our hearts, it is the tree for oui’ in our hearts, it is the tree for our children. —— victory. in other news, police reveal dozens of prosecutions have been dropped after claims that thousands of test results were tampered with at a forensics laboratory. the dup leader arlene foster says northern ireland's border is being used as a bargaining chip in the brexit negotiations. we bring you the world's first interview with morgan chang derived —— morgan tsvingirai, since the resignation of robert mugabe was announced. good evening and welcome to bbc news. robert mugabe took zimbabwe and the world by surprise this afternoon when he suddenly resigned as the country's president after almost 4 decades in power. without warning his letter of resignation was read out in parliament — just as impeachment proceedings against him were getting underway. in it m

i, robert, gabriel mugabe. 37 years ago robert mugabe was a hero, the man who liberated zimbabwe, but he soon proved to be a brittle, vengeful leader. after he had the least his supporters on the country's white farmer, the economy collapsed. —— unleashed his. he rigged elections and terrorised his opponents to stay in power and all but a few suffered. this was me shopping in a country ravaged by hyperinflation. to give you a sense of this country's spiralling catastrophe i have come to a supermarket on the edge of harare and we are using hidden cameras for our protection. the first thing you see are empty shells that should be stacked with bread, but the bakeries have stopped working. robert mugabe shrugged it off, but he was older and weaker than he knew. in the end his fatal mistake was almost a cliche, to pick his wife as his successor, a woman who know one trusted or liked. the man poised to take over here is emerson mnangagwa, for decades robert mugabe's right—hand man, his brutal enforcer. the worry is that zimbabwe is busy exchanging one tyrant for another. then again th

i, robert gabriel mugabe... 37 years ago, robert mugabe was a hero, the man who liberated zimbabwe. but he soon proved to be a brutal, vengeful leader. and, after he had unleashed his supporters on the country's white farmers, the economy collapsed. mugabe rigged elections and terrorised his opponents to stay in power, and all but a few suffered. this was me shopping in a country ravaged by hyperinflation. to give you a sense of this country's spiralling economic catastrophe, i've come to a supermarket on the edge of harare. we're using hidden cameras for our own protection. and the first thing you see are empty shelves that should be stacked with bread, but the bakeries here have stopped working. robert mugabe shrugged it off, but he was older and weaker than he knew. in the end, his fatal mistake was almost a cliche, to pick his wife as his successor, a woman who no—one trusted or liked. the man poised to take over here is emmerson mnangagwa, for decades robert mugabe's right—hand man, his brutal enforcer. the worry is that zimbabwe is busy exchanging one tyrant for another. t

mr mugabe is a man who digs in, he fights. in some ways, after reflection, we shouldn't be surprised that he's still hanging on. that was alex magisa earlier. five countries are involved in a huge airand sea five countries are involved in a huge air and sea search to try to find an argentine submarine. the sanjuan has been missing since wednesday, with 44 crew on board. contact was lost as it returned from a routine mission near the southern—most tip of south america, but signals are being detected which may provide clues to its location. dan johnson reports. this is a vessel designed to play hide and seek in the deepest depths. so finding the sanjuan, its crew and the 22 torpedoes it carries is a real challenge. fresh satellite signals, albeit weak ones, have revived hopes of rescue. seven call attempts have been received, says the navy spokesman, but they were incomplete and need to be checked to pinpoint the location. he stressed that they are making every effort to find the submarine, searching the open ocean and the sea

i, robert mugabe... mugabe's resignation came as a complete surprise. his letter was read out in parliament. we're here right at the moment that they've heard that robert mugabe has resigned from the presidency. and you can hear it from zanu—pf mp5, from opposition mp5, from members of the public who've come here to witness what's happening. it happened as impeachment proceedings against 93—year—old mugabe were beginning after last week's military take over and days of protests.

it seemed at times that robert mugabe is living ina times that robert mugabe is living in a parallel universe, especially when he said the military takeover was not a threat to his authority as head of state. but let's bring in the representative in the uk zanu—pf, the party that has dismissed mr mugabe as party leader. what was your reaction when you heard that speech, mr mnangagwa, and you heard he is not going to resign? i waited with bated breath, hoping at some point the speech would take at some point the speech would take a turn and i would think, ok, we are getting there now. but as i continued to listen, he was basically saying, we have learned lessons. hello! you have learned lessons. hello! you have learned lessons for how long? after how long? and to do what? within what time you have? and at what age? it did not make sense. and also, the fa ct did not make sense. and also, the fact that he completely ignored today's events, ignored them or he did not even know that he is no longer the zanu—pf leader. he is no longer the zanu—pf leader. he is no longer the zanu—pf

in a sense this is all about mrs mugabe. the army intervened here purely to stop her from succeeding her husband as president. a dramatic —— dramatic move in a power struggle that has steadily intensified as mr mugabe has grown older. today, the aim is to cut a deal that sidelines grace mugabe and allows the president to step down with at least some dignity. mugabe needs to be persuaded to resign. that's the obvious route to take. if one starts to ta ke obvious route to take. if one starts to take the impeachment route, the ill health route and trying to get the parliamentary vote, this could bea the parliamentary vote, this could be a long and protracted process and the outcome could be uncertain. we had far out of harare into a poor neighbourhood tojudge had far out of harare into a poor neighbourhood to judge the mood. had far out of harare into a poor neighbourhood tojudge the mood. you can really feel the sense of anticipation here. zimbabwe and many of the people here are ready to celebrate the departure of the onl

robert mugabe went to jail for ten yea rs robert mugabe went to jail for ten years and later fled to join robert mugabe went to jail for ten years and laterfled tojoin his gorillas in the bush. a revolutionary war led to thousands of casualties but when apartheid south africa withdrew support from the regime in rhodesia, things changed. whether they accept it or not is immaterial to us, really. they have to accept it. under the stewardship of the old british colonial power, there were elections which robert mugabe won, promising for goodness and tolerance. and bear true allegiance to zimbabwe. but in power, a ruthless nature swiftly asserted itself. my government will never rest until those within the party who are responsible for organising this are crushed and crushed fully. in one 4p used the army to crush supporters of a rival army. —— in one province. it was a pitiless massacre as i discovered when i went to investigate the atrocities. this is a country in a state of fear. everywhere you go there are militia and police roadblocks and of course spies you can't see. the west s

supporters were slain in a brutal crackdown by mugabe's danny p.f. party in the 1980's. in one thousand nine hundred seven mugabe tightened his grip on power after a merger with the main opposition party he effectively declared one party rule and himself the president. in election after election mugabe won amid charges of vote rigging media intimidation and violent clampdowns on opposition supporters and politicians. always. mcgarvie his heavy handed rule turned more and more zimbabweans against him the once thriving country began spiraling out of control. mugabe launched a bloody campaign to seize thousands of white owned farms the new owner's daughter lacked farming experience and agricultural production went into a noise dive once one of africa's breadbaskets zimbabwe was now struggling to feed its own people. amid rampant poverty and political upheaval in two thousand and five mugabe turned his attention to the country's slums his demolition campaign left at least seven hundred thousand people homeless many of whom supported the opposition just a

and his wife grace mugabe when there are those questions that are on your mind as well. i don't have those questions right now because a militant reason garden was expelled from seoul appears and from politics and i didn't mean that there is any political parties involved with that will be able to take the stage to do what they can to their political but and mugabe has resigned which shows that she wants nothing to do with politics or to date with it was call westley didn't voluntarily but we have to court and say opposition get organized and which again onto the track and right now if there's going. to. hear frankenstein. tell you mentioned how the constitution was working in zimbabwe that is why president mugabe had to resign a cali boy here says to us in a strange pessimist obvious resignation should not be based on military intervention that doesn't promote democracy in africa and you say what. if if if were contrived to bring some context in. the military intervention that we saw last week when the first lady or firm of first lady now began her so-called rallies bac

i saw it reported by reuters that grace mugabe has been expeued reuters that grace mugabe has been expelled from the ruling party. 0bviously she has been a very divisive figure and triggered, perhaps, this wholly bent. do we know now what will become of her and herfamily? know now what will become of her and her family? —— triggered know now what will become of her and herfamily? —— triggered this know now what will become of her and her family? —— triggered this whole event. we don't. i think it will be a key pa rt event. we don't. i think it will be a key part of these negotiations between the generals and robert mugabe. a lot of people have been saying it would not be safe from grace mugabe to stay in the country, that her life would be in danger, such as the animosity against her. i also suspect president mugabe, for a sense of his own dignity, would not wa nt to sense of his own dignity, would not want to go into exile. he is a stubborn man, and it sounds, from what we can understand of the negotiations, mostly speculation, as if he simply refuses to accept the reality that

robert mugabe is a man who will dig in and fight. he has that history and in some ways we shouldn't be surprised that he is still hanging on. you're watching newsday on the bbc. still to come in the programme: as the us navy arrives in argentina to help hunt for a missing submarine, we'll get the latest from our latin america editor. also had a in the programme, we visit the singapore exhibition bringing together european impressionists and their asian contemporaries. —— also ahead in. benazir bhutto has claimed victory in pakistan's general election. she has asked pakistan's president to name her as prime minister. jackson has been released on bail of $3 million, after turning himself in to police in santa barbara. it was the biggest demonstration so far of the fast—growing european anti—nuclear movement. the south african government has announced that it's opening the country's remaining whites—only beaches to people of all races. this will lead to a black—majority government in this country, and the destruction of the

his wife, grace mugabe. having watched what has happened over the last few days here, you have had the people on the streets yesterday in their tens of thousands, the central committee, which he dominated for 37 yea rs, committee, which he dominated for 37 years, ruling he should be removed from the presidency of the party, and setting in train threats to impeach him by next monday. and then tonight, in spite of all of that, he appears on television and he says, i will preside over the party congress in december, in three weeks' time. one has to stand back a bit from the natural sense of deflation that you get from members of the public, and not just people get from members of the public, and notjust people who are members of the opposition. what your previous guest said, it is the end of the era of mugabe but he has managed, probably by playing an international card, probably by saying, look, it is the policy of the african union and the international community that leaders are not removed by coups. he has

it's been a tumultuous week for the country after robert mugabe resigned earlier this week he ruled the country with an iron fist for nearly four decades. well the christian one who has been following all the latest developments for us from harare and we also have a journalist you're going line on who reported from zimbabwe for a decade he joins us from bonn christine and european good to have you both christiane let's start with you in harare the whole country must be watching this event what it is as a been like there in harare today is it a credible atmosphere assuming there is an uncle on phrase that he released a song a couple of months ago and the song lyrics go something along the lines of god. that is sure not to say the crocodile is going to come and rule at the time people didn't know that they will be singing the song on a day like this and calling it prophetic because indeed the crocodile so to say has been sworn in in a synagogue is now the president everybody virtually everybody has become a political commentator on some solace it is the talk of the town people are happy t

zimbabwe —— mugabe needs to step down. then there are huge queries about the agenda of the military and the potential for imposition of a new leader. i think the fear for many people is that this willjust remain an internal transition within zanu—pf and will not bring real change. today, seeing the masses come out in such an unprecedented scale, it really takes us down a path where ordinary citizens are starting to demand that they want to have a stake in this transition process. and i suppose all eyes are on the former vice president will stop the question is whether he would we any different from robert mugabe. he may still be seen as the old guard. absolutely. it seems that the military does favour the former vice president. to that degree he probably needs to have a significant and important role in the transition process. he does seem to have the backing of the military. he comes from the same chequered past that zanu—pf has been through. he was involved in many of the atrocities that zanu—pf have committed. i t

is full of mugabe's term and so right now because robert mugabe has gone there you know people are also. almost glossing over all of that right now but that the reality is that the future is very uncertain and those who can take a step back a worried now about these characters coming in and taking the fall because questions are are they going to change or they simply going to be worse some people see it than what we saw with robert mugabe many people even saying an old man will prosecute this morning and say you know i actually think not go is worse than then will god be but it remains to be seen really but what the constitution sais is that none of us should own you really stand as president for the remainder of her up macleod based him off to which the country must go to a general election that would mean up until july next year ok and christine just briefly if you can where does all of this leave robert mugabe what's happening happens to him and his wife grace. well that's a question everybody's asking we know that this family has amassed incredible wealth of the is i'm talking about

in those early days robert mugabe was definitely a good guy. sadly he's gone from being a liberation hero to being a tyrant. we should remember that he has killed more black africans than even the evil apartheid regime in south africa and that is saying something. it's an absolute tragedy that a man who i believe started well has come to such a great and mighty fall. there are many other accusations against him in terms of human rights abuses which lead you to try to perform a citizens arrest on him more than once. yes, in response to appeals from zimbabwean human rights activists who asked me to try to draw international attention to detention without trial, torture and murder of democracy activists in the 19905, i murder of democracy activists in the 1990s, i first attended a citizens arrest in london in 1999, when together with colleagues i ambushed his motorcade in central london and actually had him under arrest, but when we summoned the police even though we had clear evidence that he had colluded with and authorised the torture of blackj

is mugabe's regime at an end? and what happens to zimbabwe now? we'll ask two zimbabweans with very different perspectives, and later the africa minister, rory stewart. also tonight — is mark zuckerberg's tour of middle america a clue to presidential ambition? and if so, is the world ready for it? mark zuckerberg would have a very good chance of winning the election. if it was mark zuckerberg on donald trump in 2020? i'd say it would be close. and this... # and i'll take my place again. # if i would try... a deaf singer admits she received death threats for entering the hearing world. we look at divisions in the deaf community over speaking and singing. why does it seem like betrayal? good evening. the armed forces have seized power and zimbabwe's president is under house arrest. but whatever you do, don't call it a coup. tonight, we're looking at what appears to be the end of robert mugabe's 37 year long reign. no one can be sure if he's been silenced for good. the streets appear calm, the transition appears bloodless. the ruling party — zanu

robert mugabe became the system. and that system got us to where we are today and therefore i would rather recommend that people focus on the institution that we have to build from the moment is great but tomorrow we have a lot of work out how do you do that what is focus on institutions actually means. today which is the evening heading into wednesday what do you do wednesday. morning of. question who will be the president. who's the acting president. what was going to be happening i don't think. those are the questions that we should be addressing right now so that tomorrow you don't find someone in a power grab a vacuum and jump in to fill that so you're not the only one asking those questions other people watching the show live on you tube this is sal he's one of them he says i hope the power vacuum he leaves behind meaning mugabe doesn't cause chaos for those who will fight for power now that he's gone he goes on to ask us questions ourselves will grayson gary try to stay on politics or will she go into exile of

zimbabwe and celebrate into the night after robert mugabe resigns as president. vice president who's firing two weeks ago triggered mugabe's dime fall is expected to work place him. and them to this is just the right live from london also coming up lebanon's prime minister saad hariri and arrives in beirut more than two weeks after announcing his resignation whilst the. teenage suicide bomber kills at least fifty people in a mosque in northeast nigeria. in march accused of subjecting its ranger to what is described as a vicious system of apartheid. welcome to the program after thirty seven years in power well but mugabe has resigned as president of zimbabwe and you sparked scenes of jubilation around the country with thousands of zimbabweans pouring into the streets with and minutes of the announcement we got he sent a letter to his and bob ways parliament as it launched proceedings to impeach him which have now been suspended. well it is here is her metasearch is in the capital harare and joins us live now hi there hiero it's been an extraordinary day it has and

we are saying, mugabe, go now. mugabe, go now. yourtime is up. please leave state house and let the country start on a new page. you should have the dignity and decency to spare the country further turmoil by simply announcing your departure immediately. if he can't, and this is the call we are doing and repeating again from when we came here on thursday last week, we are bringing back the people of zimbabwe to the streets. you will then have to settle these issues with the people of zimbabwe. ben brown is in the zimbabwean capital harare. are you getting any sense of what might happen in an hour, if anything? i am not getting a sense that he is going to resign. until we hear it from his mouth, no one will believe he is going to resign. everyone was expecting him to resign last night after his own party, zanu—pf, had sacked him as their leader, after the military had had their takeover here, and after seeing thousands of people on the streets here in harare on saturday. so much pressure from the people, from the army, from his own party to resi

they came to listen to what president mugabe had to say. after a meeting with army generals responsible for a takeover earlier last week, they had expected to hear his resignation speech. at this bar, they waited and waited to be told by president mugabe in a stumbling address... all this now has to stop... ..that he was going nowhere. he does not speak for our interests. he only speaks for his personal interests, and his family. so, why are you so disappointed? we are suffering! we are suffering. we have had enough of suffering. we need him — we need him to change his mind. we need him to resign. he didn't actually say he's resigning or anything, so we're still waiting. the people marched yesterday. they expressed their views. i'm a young lawyer in zimbabwe. i've been practising law for the past three years. it's pathetic. the country has gone to the dogs. the consummate politician appears, at least for the moment, and on the surface, to have negotiated a deal on his own terms. this is not the announcement that some zimbabweans were wait

mugabe i'm joined now by derek kayongo. derek is the ceo for the center on civil and human rights here in atlanta. it's good to have you to talk about this major story that's playing out. we've learned from a source that the terms of resignation may be ready, may have been agreed to in a letter. it is important to point out 37 years of power, mr. mugabe has managed to hang on despite pressure. this is not official yet. and that's important. >> that's very, very important. and that's why it's also curious to see how the leadership is handling the situation. the military has been very cordial to mr. mugabe, and so has everybody else. so i think it's interesting how he handles this going forward. if those terms have been drafted and their amicable to him and his family, i think he should really pay attention to that. >> let's talk about the veneer here. we heard from our reporter david mckenzie who again brought us this exclusive information. we heard from david that of course they're talk iing up thi prs of peaceful transitio

the general who arrested robert mugabe. and emmerson mnangagwa, the political brain behind the coup, and president in waiting. by midafternoon, the mp's and senators had moved to a hotel to accommodate the special joint session of parliament. they were watched by the public in what felt like a rare moment of true democracy here. people are suffering, this mp said. and then the moment. a letter was handed to the speaker. he read it first himself, and then to the world. fergal: he was muffled, but the words were momentous. [cheers and applause] fergal: many who a week ago would have cheered robert mugabe exalted in his fall. and we are here right at the moment where they have heard that robert mugabe has resigned from the presidency. you can hear cheering from zanu-pf mp's, opposition mp's, and those who have come to witness what is happening. they thought it would be a potentially elongated process of impeachment, but it hasn't happened. he's gone it's over. , a week ago, most foreign journalists were banned here. today mp's

who's going to take over once robert mugabe has left office? and we should remember he is 93 years old, and he can't stay in power forever. what has happened in the last few years is his wife, grace mugabe, who is a0 years younger than him and is very ambitious, has gradually sidelined possible successors, including joice mujuru a couple of years ago, and just last week another vice president, emmerson mnangagwa. what has happened now, in the last week or so, is reverberations from that, with the army essentially saying we support mnangagwa, and not grace mugabe. so there's a power struggle being played out and it's very notable that we've heard nothing from mr mugabe himself. in previous years... well, this wouldn't have happened in previous years, but in previous years, he would've been completely on top of it and we have heard from him. nothing from mr mugabe so far. let's take a look at some of the other stories making the news. the us attorney general, jeff sessions, has dismissed claims that he misled members of congress about contacts be

he has been used to mugabe ever since the gaby persuaded him tojoin used to mugabe ever since the gaby persuaded him to join the liberation struggle in his teens. british steel more years, he is closely associated with the worst excesses of the mugabe regime. including the bucharest in the massacre of 20,000 civilians. back in the 1980s. but he differs from the gaby in one respect, he is much more of a pragmatist, much less of an ideologue. when i spoke to him, the message i got very clearly was that he wanted, he understood very clearly the need to restore, to rebuild zimba bwe's clearly the need to restore, to rebuild zimbabwe's broken economy. he talks about the need for foreign investment, the need for engagement with the west. it talks about the need to bring back the professionals who have fled zimbabwe, black and white, to help rebuild the economy. i think that will be, that's where he is going to differfrom mugabe. there won't be any political liberalisation, he is determined to keep zanu—pf to maintain its grip on power, but he will try to bring some stability and restore th

robert mugabe is a leader who has outlived his epoch. from icon of the struggle against racist rule, to symbol of excess and repression, he has fallen hard and inflicted untold damage on his country in the process. there was a deceptive calm in salisbury, capital of rhodesia, on the day of udi, the declaration of independence. it was this world of white privilege and black exclusion he and other revolutionary leaders sought to overthrow. robert mugabe went to jail for ten years and later fled tojoin his guerillas in the bush. a revolutionary war led to thousands of casualties but when apartheid south africa withdrew support from the rhodesian regime, it was forced into negotiations. whether they accept it or not is immaterial to us, really. they will have to accept it in as much as they must accept political domination. under the stewardship of the old british colonial power, there were elections, which robert mugabe won, promising forgiveness and tolerance. and bear true allegiance to zimbabwe and observe... but in power, a ruthless nat

mugabe has... i don't have any words to say now. 37 years with one president, is doesn't make any sense. so this time it is a new era for us as a nation. we were tired of this man, we are so glad he has gone. we don't want him any more. and yes, today it is victory. it is victory in our hearts. it is victory for our children. but how long will this euphoria continuing coverage will the man expected to replace mugabe, his former henchmen and vice president emmerson mnangagwa, sweep away oppression? is the nation simply swapping one tyrant for another? he has some skeletons in his cupboard as a former henchmen of mugabe. but we know he is more open to change double mugabe. he's also more open for western involvement. independence in 1980 promised much under a man who seemed to value democracy and human rights. as the years went by, repression through and zimbabwe evolved into a virtual i—party state. only mugabe's party, zanu—pf, is allowed to win elections. there is no room for opposition at the

we have also heard that president mugabe's roman catholic priest, a close friend and confidant of mugabe, is involved in negotiations for some sort of a settlement. in the meantime we are expecting a press conference today. and maybe a statement on what's going on. the militaryto takeover. he only got bacack into thehe country fromom south africica we he has b been receivingg mededil treatment. we think he might confirm whether or not he would agree to some kind of deal with whoever takes over from mugabe. genie: you are in harare. what is the feeling like on the streets? does it feel as if a coup has actually taken place? units are still on the streets. but otherwise things feel normal. supermarkets are stocked and busy. there is traffic on the roads. it also seems to be calm in other cities around the country. the u.k. and the u.s. embassies have both issued warnings again today saying the political situation remains uncertain and have urged nationals to exercise caution.n. the u.s. embassy has said it is deeply concerned about the military action. they have also been unverified video

other people outside zanu—pf would like to see robert mugabe gone, and thatis like to see robert mugabe gone, and that is the main interest. as far as freedom is concerned, people are happy that freedom is coming, but it is important to understand that what is important to understand that what is critical here is notjust one man, but the system. it is the system that has got to change. the system that has got to change. the system that has got to change. the system that robert mugabe created is so entrenched that it will take some time before it can be dismantled. but this is the beginning. i think it is important to celebrate the moment, if indeed robert mugabe goes, because it will be the start perhaps of a hopeful future for zimbabweans. and perhaps notjust zimbabweans. and perhaps notjust zimbabweans. you touched on this briefly but just zimbabweans. you touched on this briefly butjust one final thought. there are neighbouring countries in the continent who will be watching what happens in some bog with very closely indeed. the african leaders are watching it. the african people, th

on what grounds do you think mugabe could be impeached all of the usual. issues. being discussed with the design of the or so of course the what they are saying is that the mugabe should be peace because he he sat in the executive for thirty two years wife saying that yes roast a couple seated to make a decision india's instead have been captured. specially use wife and the other people around the years was fraught with tsonga sacrifice present and went on god well let's take a look at him he's been named as the new policy leda he is known as the crocodile the in zimbabwe what do we know about him. he is you was sentenced to death when you was eight years old for carrying out good activities the only thing that spurred him death was because he was under age then from there or i mean he took part in the liberation struggle. then from one thousand nine hundred eighty seven he was president assistant in a border guard sort of speak he's a lawyer he's been in solve security has been minister of defense has been minister of justice he's been. head of parliament

the speaker went on to read mugabe's reasons for stepping down. my decision today is i is water on top on my part and that rival will michael say for the welfare of the people of them bought with their my desire for a sure it's more peaceful and nonviolent found. that on the. national security peace and stability. mugabe's departure marks the end of a crisis that began last week when the military intervened to stop the rise to power of mugabe's wife grace that then developed into a popular revolt. and you did will be named within forty eight hours but for now zimbabweans are enjoying what marks the beginning of a new era in their country. and we want the take you known to harare that is where my colleague christine is standing by good evening to you christine i mean i have to say we've been watching you today you've been right in the thick of it right where history has been happening what are you seeing right now. this really have exploded with excitement that you're in and out a lot of pieces away from hot buttons in the middle of the crowd keeps

against mugabe in the picture. they blame him for everything but i think we're seeing is that they used. this model with to be done after i'm back to back the people are different if you wait related because there is or there dana. was. painted in your eyes or that they had moved a little. do you agree with that. well yes i do agree obviously that. only guns of greece will go being kind of the tipping point for citizens. i do agree that the specter of a dynasty was deeply frightening to people i was slightly about the hint of the surgeon in terms of. well it was when this woman was going to do this and this came up again this might be significant in the bigger picture what i don't want to and you know i show the oil for young africans even though i'm a political analyst i'm also young africa we have a collective us to ration of our continent for a new kind of leadership and so i share in that aspiration with zimbabweans and in that light i feel like the world is not a scapegoat he was the leader of this country for

all he had borne the sufferings of the mugabe years. some we re sufferings of the mugabe years. some were personally targeted during attacks by his supporters. you and yourfamily attacks by his supporters. you and your family suffered terribly, do your family suffered terribly, do you feel the nightmare is over? we arejust you feel the nightmare is over? we are just worried about what will happen next. this trusted lieutenants are the ones who carried out his business for him and they will be the ones in power in the future. it is a question of what happens in that transition, whether we get to a place where there are free and fair elections. these are emotions that have been pent up for yea rs emotions that have been pent up for years was not mourning for what was lost here, and daring to hope. fergal keane reporting. we are still waiting for that address from robert mugabe from state house, the official residence of the president, with some expectation based on those reports from reuters that he has agreed to step down, but we don't know that, we cannot confirm that independen

. >> in this article, they are wondering if grace mugabe caused robert mugabe's downfall. it is what a lot of political commentators have been saying. her thirst for power was what caused the old guard to revolt. it is not the first time people have laid the blame on the wives of african leaders for their political downfalls. you can see other names here. you have one from ivory coast. according to some commentators, the wives are responsible for the faded lyrical careers of their husbands. of course, that is a controversial opinion. a lot of papers are focusing on the detail that mugabe was willing to throw his wife under the bus in the final hours. he was willing to send her to a former -- foreign country in exile to retain power. anchor: papers focusing on solution tofind a the syrian crisis. saying this iss a big win for the russian president vladimir putin. it was a bold diplomatic move. he brought together or honey from iran and erdogan from turkey to try to draw out a peace plan, a move that sidelined the u.s. and e.u. it is clear the future of a post-were serialize

when it seemed like grace mugabe, who used to be mugabe's typist, would now be able to take over, the army had a very different view to that. why are people concerned? there have been many years of corruption, what do people want to see now? since the year 2000 there have been lots of economic issues in zimbabwe. between 2000 and 2008 the economy shrank by a third, at its highest unemployment was at about 80%. it is difficult to get imports into the country, the currency has crashed multiple times, it isa currency has crashed multiple times, it is a very difficult economic picture. millions of zimbabweans have gone to look for opportunities in south africa and further afield. what people really want is change, and the question they are asking now is did the military do this just to prevent grace mugabe from succeeding the president, or did they do it to bring about change? that is the question that most zimbabwe and are concerned about, we'll just question that most zimbabwe and are concerned about, we'lljust be power shifting within the same group or are they going to cede real solut

i don't think china is terribly worried about mugabe's leadership. the relationship between china and zimbabwe is notjust a relationship between china and mugabe. china's concerns about mr mugabe's mismanagement of the zimbabwean economy have apparently been showing themselves for sometimes, in the shape of promised chinese investments that have failed to arrive. mugabe has been irritated by the fact that large investment, joint ventures in the resource sector and things of that nature have often not actually been implemented and the consequences of that have been to keep the economy in its continued tailspin. could the move against mugabe have come because his rule was impoverishing zimba bwe's elite as well as hitting chinese investors? one of the things that mugabe had done or the government had done in recent years was to cancel licences in the diamond fields, where there were joint ventures and with dumb two chinese companies in particular but the military backed interest in exploiting diamonds. and this seemed to be a signal that business as us