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zim coup

Zimbabwe live updates: TV returns to normal broadcasts, no word from Mugabe yet

Catch up on what is happening in Zimbabwe here…

Alexis Haden
by Alexis Haden
15-11-2017 17:30
in News
zim coup

This is a developing story and will be updated as new developments arise… refresh your browser to see the latest updates.

Latest news from Zimbabwe in summary:

Zimbabwe’s army took control of ZBC, the national state broadcaster, on Wednesday. They insist that what they are doing is not a coup and they are only seeking to “root out criminals around President Mugabe”. The president has not made a statement, although, Jacob Zuma said he spoke to him and he’s “fine, but confined to his home”. Grace Mugabe is reportedly planning to flee, but she is apprently still in the country. There are several reports of other ministers being arrested and that Mugabe will officially step down this week. What happens then, is anyone’s guess…

18:50 Unless there is big breaking news, we’re going to pause our live coverage for the day here.

18:28 As events hit a plateau, we’ve been considering just how all this chaos is going to effect South Africa. It may well be a brighter future without Bob in the long term, but we both have hurdles to come in our immediate futures (Tom Head).

17:33 Things seem to be calming down, a bit. Well, as calm as they can be when there has been a coup that is not being called a coup in a country. The BBC reports that from midday on Wednesday, the state broadcasters resumed normal programming after playing patriotic liberation war songs for hours. Nobody official knows where Grace Mugabe is just yet – and we don’t even know about Bob’s whereabouts for sure. Shops in Harare closed early and we’ve got our eyes locked on developments. More as we get them.

16:20 The military are never going to use the word coup, we can pretty much be sure of that. Despite this whole thing walking, talking and quacking like a coup. But we all have to ask what is going to happen now? Jason Burke, The Guardian’s correspondent, quoted a “high profile opposition leader” who said that there are now talks of Mugabe resigning this week and being replaced by Mnangagwa, with opposition leaders taking posts as vice-president and prime minister. This claim has not been independently verified, but according to Burke, another unnamed opposition leader said that this has been looming for some time now and negotiations had been ” continuing for several months with “certain people within the army”.

To be honest, we’re not sure he has much of a choice but to step down…here’s something on who might replace Uncle Bob when it gets to that.

15:59 Boris Johnson – just the man you need in a crisis – has expressed Britain’s response to the non-coup. The UK Foreign secretary had this to say:

“At the moment it’s very fluid and it’s hard to say exactly how this will turn out. I think the most important point to make is that everybody wants to see a stable and successful Zimbabwe. I think we are really appealing for everybody to refrain from violence. That’s the crucial thing.”

14:57 And now we have some cartoons…

14:36 The Economic Freedom Fighters, meanwhile, have called for South Africa to grant the Mugabe family political asylum. Well, what’s a little political asylum between countries granting diplomatic immunity, eh?

14:29 The EU, which imposed sanctions against Zimbabwe in 2002 over its rights record, has called for a “peaceful resolution”. The crisis. EC spokeswoman Catherine Ray said:

It is a matter of concern for the EU. We call on all the relevant players to move from confrontation to dialogue with the aim to a peaceful resolution.

We are following very closely what is happening on the ground, underlining that the fundamental rights for the citizens need to be respected and the constitutional order and democratic governance to be upheld.

13:50 If you feel like watching JZ give a speech, you can check out his recorded statement here. Also, we’ve got a bit of analysis on when a military coup is actually a coup. The situation remains calm and there are some reports that programming on state channels are starting to return to normal after they were repeating struggle songs earlier.  Also, we have a round up of all the reactions on Twitter here.

13:22 Zimbabwe war veterans held a presser where they “commend the Job done by CDF and his colleagues”.

13:01 Meanwhile, Grace Mugabe might have gotten out of the country already…opposition MP Eddie Cross told BBC News that he believes First Lady Grace Mugabe has fled to Namibia. The Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) politician said that he understood she had been allowed to leave the country last night by the army. Exiling herself was kind of limited because, you know, most countries don’t like her and she allegedly assaulted a model in South Africa. The army has not confirmed any of this, though.

12:56  South African political party COPE, has issued this statement:

Following decades of bad governance that has seen the destruction of democracy in Zimbabwe; the rise of a one party-state, dictatorial tendencies and the beginnings of a family dynasty; the destruction of the Zimbabwean economy and hyperinflation; rampant unemployment and worsening poverty (that has put strains on South Africa) it was clear that something had to give.

Cope notes that to this point there has been limited, if any violence in the actions by the Zimbabwean Military. Whilst we do not necessarily condone the intervention of the military in any country, what has transpired to date in Zimbabwe is understandable.

COPE sees no role for South Africa or SADC in the internal affair of Zimbabwe at this point other than to encourage its return to full democracy.

COPE trusts that Mugabe will relinquish power with immediate effect and that Zimbabwe will return to a full, meaningful and prosperous multi-party democracy via the election box as soon as possible.

12:43 According to the SADC statement, Zuma spoke to President Mugabe who told him he was “confined to his home but fine”. But nobody knows for sure…

12:34 We’re working on when is a coup actually a coup story for you and writer Tom Head has this teaser for you:

The insistence of not calling this ‘military intervention’ a coup isn’t just an attempt to maintain calm in the country. It’s a lot more nuanced than that.

Any governments that are established following a military coup find it extremely difficult to gain legitimacy. Both The African Union and 15-member strong Southern African Development Community are on record as saying they won’t recognise a party that gains power through a coup d’etat. By sticking to the narrative that it is a ‘peaceful transition’, Zimbabwe’s forces against Mugabe can argue that no ‘coup’ has occurred.

12:33 Where is Bob? Well, according to a number of international media sources, nobody knows right know. There were rumours that he was due to have a press conference at 13:00… but right now… *insert shrugging smiley here*. There were reports earlier that he was preparing to flee, all while negotiating the safety of Grace. There were also reports that he has actually been under house arrest. But right now, nobody really knows for sure…

12:23 Oh and if there was any doubt that the military has taken control, Zimbabwe’s state channels are now only broadcasting one thing repeatedly – struggle songs and a statement by the general.

12:21 The situation remains uncertain, but calm. There has been no official comment from Zim government. But, if you want a little giggle in the meantime, CNBC Africa confused to the Zambian and Zimbabwean flag earlier…

11:54 The Democratic Alliance has called for the immediate resignation of Robert Mugabe – and for fresh elections in the country. Read there statement here.

11:19 Reports are emerging that Zimbabwean police are being detained in Harare as the military continues their power seizure of state arms.

https://twitter.com/BitaNick/status/930726535522373638

11:00 President Jacob Zuma, on behalf of SADC has issued a statement on the crisis in Zimbabwe. You can read that statement here.

10:25 There are further reports that Emerson Mnangagwa, the vice president who was fired by Mugabe, is back in the country. According to The Guardian’s correspondent, Jason Burke, he flew in via the Manyame airbase this morning. He is well supported by the army – and his firing is believed to be reason this whole coup that is not a coup is unfolding. So it looks like he is being readied as de facto head of government…

10:20 The unverified ZanuPF Youth League account also seems to have been seized by the military. It reiterates that this is “not a coup”.

10:15 Zimbabwe’s privately-owned NewsDay has unconfirmed reports of the detention of three leading figures of the so-called Generation 40 (G40) faction of Zanu-PF. That’s the faction who has been vying for Grace to take over. Finance minister Ignatius Chombo (Zanu PF’s secretary for administration), national commissar Saviour Kasukuwere and Higher Education minister Jonathan Moyo were arrested in raids at their respective homes.

10:05 – The South African Presidency has announced that President Zuma will release a statement on the ongoings in Zimbabwe, at around 13:00. In other Zim news, it seems Grace might be ready to make a run for it… 

9:55 – DIRCO have confirmed that South Africa will be monitoring the situation ‘very closely’. They have advised that any South African citizens in Zimbabwe make contact with the embassy for further details.

9:27 The Twitter account belonging to the ruling Zanu PF seems to have fallen under military control. Usually cheerleaders for the Mugabes, their latest message is now celebrating a ‘fresh new era’ for the country, and stating that the Mugabe family “do not own Zimbabwe”:

8:50 Senator for opposition party Movement for Democratic Change David Coltart has said that the military have ‘complete control’ over the media, and expressed his views on the current developments:

“This has all the marks of a coup, despite what the military are saying. At least one cabinet minister has been arrested. We are committed to respecting the constitution, our immediate response is that we’re against any breach of the constitution.”

“We understand the frustration. Mugabe has been responsible for the looting of Zimbabwe. But we want them to restore order as soon as possible. If we are to change our leadership, we must try to impeach Robert Mugabe”

08:27 There are reports (confirmed according to News24) that President Mugabe has negotiated for Grace to leave the country safely and that he will then step down… we’ll have an update on that as soon as we can source it…

08:18 Away from the seizure of the state broadcaster, things seem to be operating as normal. The airport seems to still be operational and a Zimbabwean journalist told News24 that traffic into the Harare city centre is “picking up”, schools operating, city flowing normally. There are also no confirmed reports that President Mugabe is under house arrest.

08:05 This is not the first time there has been military show of force in Zim. There was a coup attempt back in 2007, which didn’t end well. Although remember, the army says this is not a coup…

A quick update from Reuters:

Zimbabwean soldiers and armoured vehicles blocked roads to the main government offices, parliament and the courts in central Harare, a Reuters witness said on Wednesday. Zimbabweans queued for cash outside banks as public taxis ferried commuters to work.

08:00 Now, a big question of all of this is what South Africa’s role is in all of this? Yesterday, it was reported that South Africa will not intervene, but that was before it was official. And, South Africa has close diplomatic ties to the country. Remember when we granted diplomatic immunity to Grace Mugabe?

07:45 Images from central Harare as morning breaks show tanks and troops on the streets around government buildings and the presidential residence. There were also reports of gunfire being heard prior to the address made by the army.

07:43 The army has taken control of the ZBC and addressed the nation, urging calm and insisting that this is “not a military take over”. They said that they are targeting “criminals” around Robert Mugabe, but he and his family are safe.

07:40 First things first, let’s recap what’s going on. Yesterday, APCs were spotted driving into Harare. Things were tense, but uncertain and the rumour mill went into overdrive. By late Wednesday evening, nothing was certain.

This came just a day after the country’s army chief demanded a “stop” to the purge in President Robert Mugabe’s ruling Zanu-PF following the sacking of vice president Emmerson Mnangagwa.

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