‘A NEW ZIMBABWE’

Zimbabweans March to Demand Mugabe’s Ouster

The 93-year-old leader’s grip on power looks set to end after three decades.

Thousands of Zimbabweans on Saturday marched toward the home of President Robert Mugabe to demand his ouster following a turbulent military takeover earlier this week. The Zimbabwean military, which has placed Mugabe on house arrest elsewhere in the city and declared an ongoing “operation” against officials close to him, urged demonstrators to be “vigilant against agent provocateurs” as the president's grip on power looks set to end. Demonstrators in the capital of Harare marched through the streets holding signs that read, “Enough is enough. Mugabe must go,” while other protesters declared a “new Zimbabwe.” The street protests came after the ruling party's 10 provincial co-coordinating committees decided on Friday to oust the 93-year-old leader amid political and social turbulence in the country. Mugabe must be “recalled as the party president and be allowed to retire and be given his status as an elder statesman,” a statement from the Zimbabwe African National Union-Patriotic Front’s provincial committees read. Mugabe has refused to step down amid growing calls for his resignation.