Zimbabwe: Huge crowds gather in Harare to call for Robert Mugabe's ouster

Protesters hope a strong turnout will bring the President’s rule to an official end

Tens of thousands of demonstrators have taken to the streets in the country’s capital Harare (AP)

Tens of thousands of Zimbabweans have gathered in the capital Harare to call for the resignation of President Robert Mugabe, after 37 years in power.

Crowds flooded into the streets, marching alongside military tanks, as motorists honked their horns and others sang in celebration of the military’s efforts to remove the long time leader.

Some held up signs saying: “Enough is enough. Mugabe must go.”

“I've been waiting all my life for this day,” one protester, Frank Mutsindikwa, told Reuters, holding up a Zimbabwean flag. “Free at last. We are free at last.”

The demonstration is expected to head straight to Mr Mugabe’s home, where protesters say they will wait until they have received notice of the President’s resignation.

The southern African nation’s generals placed the 93-year-old leader under house arrest earlier this week, allowing him limited movement while talks on his exit from office continue.

He was allowed to speak at a graduation ceremony and he has insisted he remains in charge but looks almost certain to be forced from office if he refuses to step down, with his ruling Zanu-PF party stating there “is no going back”.

Many of Mr Mugabe’s opponents are growing impatient and want to see him ousted from office immediately.

Protesters are hoping a strong turnout will help bring the President’s rule to an official end.

Robert Mugabe attended a university graduation ceremony in Harare while under house arrest (Reuters) (REUTERS)

Negotiations have been underway between military commanders to find a new leader after the country’s army forced the President and his family to go under house arrest in a bid to seize power.

It is thought that the country’s former vice president, Emmerson Mnangagwa, could take power. Mr Mugabe sparked the crisis by firing the veteran politician, known as the “the crocodile”, in an apparent bid to allow his wife Grace Mugabe to take the role.

Despite the house arrest and dozens of taken and army personnel being placed in Harare, the military has insisted that the move is not a “coup d’etat”.

Reports on the ground suggest that the move to oust Mr Mugabe has received widespread support from the population.

The President, who has led Zimbabwe since it declared independence from Britain in 1980, has long been blamed for the collapse of the country’s economy.

Once one of Africa’s wealthiest nations, the country’s economy has been on a downward spiral since 2000, with widespread poverty and unemployment now running at nearly 90 per cent.

The collapse was triggered by the seizure of white-owned commercial farms across the country.

Protesters call on Zimbabwe’s now largely powerless President to resign (AP)

The Zimbabwe African National Union – Patriotic Front (Zanu-PF), the ruling party in the country, has called for Mr Mugabe to resign, according to Zimbabwe’s main state newspaper, The Herald.

The newspaper said that Zanu-PF branches in all 10 provinces had met and also called for the President’s wife, Grace Mugabe, to resign from the party.

It was Ms Mugabe’s own ambitions to succeed her husband as Zimbabwe’s leader that triggered the political crisis.

A senior member of Zanu-PF had also said that they wanted the pair out of the party.

“If he becomes stubborn, we will arrange for him to be fired on Sunday,” they said. “When that is done, it’s impeachment on Tuesday.”

The Herald has reported that Zanu-PF has planned to hold a special Central Committee meeting on Sunday to “realign the revolutionary party with current political developments”.

Additional reporting by PA