Mugabe’s exit is ‘a done deal’ but Zimbabwe is still in limboHarare, Zimbabwe (CNN)The decades-long grip on power of Zimbabwe’s President Robert Mugabe appeared to be over on Thursday as his main opposition rival returned to the country amid efforts to form a transitional government.
Morgan Tsvangirai, who had been receiving cancer treatment abroad, returned to Harare after Wednesday’s military takeover, two sources with knowledge of his movements said.

One source, a senior member of Tsvangirai’s Movement for Democratic Change (MDC-T) party, said talks were underway with military leaders about an administration that includes the opposition, with the tacit backing of key regional allies.

The source described the arrangement as a “a done deal,” but there was no indication on Thursday that Mugabe plans to go quietly. The 93-year-old leader, who is under house arrest in Harare, has not made any public statement since the military seized control Wednesday.

Key developments

Mugabe detained: South African President Jacob Zuma said the veteran leader was being held at home but was “fine.” Rumors have swirled that Mugabe would make a statement but none has so far been forthcoming.

South African envoys: Two envoys dispatched by Zuma arrived in Harare for talks Thursday. Zuma, as chair of the Southern African Development Community (SADC), called for a meeting of the group in Botswana for Thursday.

Grace Mugabe: It was unclear whether the President’s 52-year-old wife was at home with him in Harare. Robert Mugabe’s efforts to position his wife as his successor infuriated the old guard in his party.

Transition talks

Zimbabwe’s military seized control of state institutions early Wednesday and placed Mugabe under house arrest, but insisted it was not staging a coup, throwing the country into political limbo.

Sources told CNN that transition talks were taking place in Zimbabwe to engineer a peaceful exit for Mugabe, who has ruled the country for 37 years and planned to contest the next election in 2018.

“There is a transition of power underway and it has tacit agreement from regional powers,” the opposition party source told CNN.

“There are active talks underway to form a transitional government and that transitional government will need to include the opposition.”

Zimbabwean opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai at a rally in Harare on August 5, 2017.

It was unclear what role Tsvangirai would play in that administration. He served as prime minister under a power-sharing deal with Mugabe after a disputed election in 2008, but Mugabe regained full control in 2013 amid further allegations of election fraud.

Key to any transitional administration will be Emmerson Mnangagwa, the powerful former Vice President, who was widely tipped to become the country’s next leader. Mnangagwa was dismissed by Mugabe last week, in a decision that triggered the latest political turmoil.

His dismissal fueled speculation that Mugabe was clearing the way for his wife, Grace, to take over the presidency in the event of his retirement or death.

Mnangagwa remains one of the most powerful figures in the country and derives much of his support from the military. He has not been sighted in Harare since he was fired and his whereabouts are still unknown

Source:- CNN

Zimbabwe crisis: Mugabe in crunch talks over future

South African government ministers are in Harare for crisis talks with ousted President Robert Mugabe and military leaders who have seized control.

They are trying to reach a deal on the future of Zimbabwe and the man who has led the country for 37 years and is now under house arrest.

The Southern African Development Community (Sadc) regional bloc is to hold emergency talks shortly.

But sources suggest Mr Mugabe may be resisting pressure to resign.

They say Mr Mugabe is insisting he remains the legitimate president.

Likewise, the head of the African Union, Guinean President Alpha Conde, has said the AU “will in no case accept” the military seizure of power. He said he was “inviting the army to return to its barracks and return to constitutional order”

So what’s going on in Harare now?

The capital has been on edge.

Mr Mugabe has been under house arrest. A Roman Catholic priest known to him for years, Father Fidelis Mukonori, is trying to mediate a deal on his future with the military.

South African Defence Minister Nosiviwe Maphisa-Nqakula and State Security Minister Bongani Bongo are meeting Mr Mugabe on behalf of the SADC, which South Africa currently leads.

Sticking points are said to include what role Mr Mnangagwa will play and the security of Mr Mugabe’s family.

Zanu-PF’s UK representative, Nick Mangwana, has suggested to the BBC that Mr Mugabe could remain nominally in power until the party congress in December, when Mr Mnangagwa would be formally installed as party and national leader.

Reuters news agency is quoting a source as saying Mr Mugabe’s wife Grace is in Mr Mugabe’s compound, along with senior figures from the “Generation-40” group supportive of the first lady – cabinet ministers Jonathan Moyo and Saviour Kasukuwere,

The Sadc mission will be pushing for a democratic solution. The body, which represents 16 countries, does not support coup-led governments as this would set a dangerous precedent in the largely peaceful region, says the BBC’s Pumza Fihlani in Johannesburg.

A Sadc emergency meeting is scheduled to take place in Botswana at 15:00 local time (13:00 GMT) to try to help find a resolution.

And Zimbabwe’s opposition?

One Zimbabwean opposition leader, Tendai Biti, told the BBC he wanted to see a transitional authority in place.

“It is urgent that we go back to democracy,” he said. “It is urgent that we go back to legitimacy but we need a transitional period and I think, I hope, that dialogue can now be opened between the army and Zimbabweans.”

He later told Reuters that he would join a national unity government if Morgan Tsvangirai, head of the Movement for Democratic Change-Tsvangirai (MDC-T) party, was also in it. Mr Tsvangirai has been abroad receiving treatment for cancer.

What’s happened to Grace Mugabe’s supporters?

Reports suggest that the military are now trying to quash the threat posed by Mrs Mugabe and her allies.

On Wednesday, one of her key allies, Zanu-PF youth wing leader Kudzai Chipanga, made a televised apology for criticising the head of the army as a war of words raged prior to the military takeover.

What are Zimbabweans being told?

Zimbabwe’s media usually toe the government line and today’s lead stories make it clear there is a new line to follow.

There is a striking absence of tough questions about what the army is doing.

“Business as usual countrywide,” says The Herald, a government-owned newspaper. Yesterday it reassured readers there was “No military takeover”.

State TV and radio stations have returned to regular programming, with Thursday’s lunchtime news bulletin on state TV giving little indication of the political upheaval.

Some privately owned newspapers have dared to address the possible end of Robert Mugabe’s rule.

“Transitional govt planned … as Mugabe cornered,” the Financial Gazette reports. “Zimbabwe scents the end of an era,” it said.

“It could easily have been entitled The end of an error. A 37-year-old error,” says a similarly headlined commentary in NewsDay.

Source:- BBC