The embattled President of Zimbabwe, Robert Mugabe has refused to step down as leader of the country despite mounting pressure from the military and negotiators from the Southern African development community (SADC).
Talks were held on Thursday at Mugabe’s residence in Harare, the “Blue roof” to find a political solution to the ongoing crisis.
The mediation team was led by a catholic priest who is close to the 93-year-old leader, but after several hours of negotiations, President Mugabe refused to cede power until his tenure ends.
Pictures begun circulating on Thursday evening showing the individuals participating in the talks which included the Zimbabwe Defence Forces officials.
The Zimbabwe Defence Forces said after the talks that significant progress has been made to clear out criminals around President Mugabe and bring them to justice.
The military said in a statement on Friday that the criminals they are after were committing crimes that were causing social and economic suffering in Zimbabwe.
“While we appreciate the enthusiasm by certain individuals and groups within society, we want to make it clear that they should not purport to be speaking on our behalf,” the military said in the statement.
The ZDF further said it “will periodically make press releases to keep the public informed of developments in the country.”
It however commended Zimbabweans for remaining patient and peaceful as the military carry out its operation.
There have been reports of a proposal to have a transitional government in place to be led by the sacked former vice-president Emmerson Mnangagwa nicknamed ‘The Crocodile’.
The transitional government would then be constituted of stakeholders from other political parties which could mean the former Vice President, Joyce Mujuru and opposition leader, Morgan Tsvangirai also returning.
On Thursday Mr. Tsvanirai called on Mugabe to step down and make way for a peaceful transition process.
The leader of the Movement for Democratic Change, MDC told a news conference at his residence in Harare after returning from South Africa that Zimbabwe is “going through extraordinary circumstances”.
Robert Mugabe has been leader of Zimbabwe since 1980 after leading his country to gain independence from the British.
Source: Africafeeds.com
