Robert Mugabe Finally Resigns As Zimbabwe’s President

The 93-year-old Robert Mugabe finally resigned as Zimbabwe’s president, on Tuesday 21^st November, 2017 bringing to an end 37 years in power which he began as a hero of the struggle against white rule and ended as the man blamed for reducing his country to despotism and economic misery. 

"My decision to resign is voluntary on my part and arises from my concern for the welfare of the people of Zimbabwe and my desire for a smooth, non-violent transfer of power," Mr Mugabe said in a letter read out by Jacob Mudenda, the speaker of parliament. 

Mr Mugabe’s resignation came a week after Zimbabwe’s military placed the 93-year old president under house arrest in a soft coup prompted by a power struggle within the ruling party involving Grace Mugabe, the first lady. 

In a bid to preserve a veneer of legitimacy and avoid sanctions, the military and its allies in Zanu-PF attempted to persuade Mr Mugabe to resign voluntarily by threatening to impeach him and mounting a massive public march in Harare to demonstrate he had lost public support. 

Therefore, Mugabe resigned in a letter submitted to parliament, Speaker Jacob Mudenda said, hours after Zimbabwe’s ruling party presented a motion to impeach him.

Mugabe had been accused of allowing his wife Grace, 52, to ‘usurp’ power and of being too old to rule. It is not clear what ill now happen to his loathed wife, dubbed Gucci Grace for her lavish spending.

Zimbabwe’s parliament erupted in cheers as the announcement was made that he had resigned ‘with immediate effect’. It is an extraordinary end for the world’s oldest head of state after a near four decades grip on power defined by brutality and economic collapse.

Meanwhile, Zimbabwe Army Chief General Constantino Chiwenga has called for "maximum restraint" and law and order to be upheld after Robert Mugabe's resignation sparked wild celebrations and plunged the country into uncertainty.

"Against the backdrop of the latest developments in our country, your defence and security services would want to appeal to all Zimbabweans across the political divide to exercise maximum restraint and observe law and order to the fullest," Mr Chiwenga said at a press briefing.

The military have been largely welcomed onto the streets by protesters who see them as helping to facilitate Mr Mugabe's resignation.