Recently appointed ZANU-PF leader, Emmerson Mnangagwa has urged the 93-year-old President Robert Mugabe to go home and rest, saying he needed to heed the “clarion call” of his people and step down.
Mnangagwa, who said he fled Zimbabwe because of a threat to his life after being purged from the ruling party, said he had been in contact with Mugabe and invited to return but would not do so until his personal security could be guaranteed.
“I told the President that I would not return home now until I am satisfied of my personal security, because of the manner and treatment given to me upon being fired,” he said in a statement.
Mugabe faces the start of impeachment proceedings on Tuesday that could see him ousted within the week, against the backdrop of a military takeover dubbed “Operation Restore Legacy”.
The ruling ZANU-PF party plans to bring the impeachment motion in parliament, after a Monday noon deadline expired for the besieged 93-year-old leader to resign and bring the curtain down on nearly four decades in power.
Impeachment would be an ignominious end to the career of the “Grand Old Man” of African politics, once lauded as an anti-colonial hero and the only leader Zimbabwe has known since it gained independence from Britain in 1980.
Mugabe has so far shown no signs of stepping down and has called for the weekly cabinet meeting to take place as usual on Tuesday.
It would be the first time ministers sit down with him since the military took power on Wednesday.
In the draft impeachment motion, ZANU-PF, which expelled Mugabe from the party on Sunday, accused him of being a “source of instability”, flouting the rule of law and presiding over an “unprecedented economic tailspin” in the last 15 years.
It also said he had abused his constitutional mandate to favour his unpopular wife Grace, 52, whose tilt at power triggered the backlash from the army that brought tanks onto the streets of the capital.
The military operation was launched after Mugabe sacked Mnangagwa, in a move meant to boost Grace’s chances of succeeding her husband.
Zimbabwe’s top general said on Monday talks were planned between Mugabe and Mnangagwa, who was expected back in the country soon.