Zimbabwe's ousted VP Mnangagwa urges Mugabe to quit as impeachment set to begin

MPs from the embattled president's own party are starting work to prise him from power, with one warning: "We have the numbers."

Protesters have taken to the streets in huge numbers calling for the President to go

Zimbabwe's ousted vice president has called on Robert Mugabe to quit immediately - paving the way for him to take over.

Emmerson Mnangagwa, whose firing kicked off the country's political crisis, said in a statement on Tuesday that he is not in Zimbabwe and will not return until he is "satisfied of my personal security".
Mr Mnangagwa, known as "the crocodile", added that Mr Mugabe must "heed the call of the people to resign" or face "humiliation".
"The people of Zimbabwe have spoken with one voice," he said.
"It is my appeal to President Mugabe that he should take heed of this clarion call and resign forthwith so that the country can move forward and preserve his legacy."

Mugabe defiant as he clings to power
Impeachment proceedings to remove the 93-year-old from power are expected to begin later - with the ruling Zanu-PF party backing Mr Mnangagwa to replace him.
Zimbabwe's leader stunned his country on Sunday when he failed to announce that he was stepping down.
An ultimatum from Zanu-PF to resign by midday on Monday or face impeachment also came and went with no word from Mr Mugabe.
The party will now press ahead with impeachment by tabling a motion, and it believes it can all be done and dusted in a couple of days - contrary to the view of some experts.
"We want to get rid of this animal called Mugabe. We have the numbers, the opposition is also going to support us," said Zanu-PF MP Vongai Mupereri.
"We are going to impeach - the man has to go," MP MacKenzie Ncube told the AFP news agency.

Emmerson Mnangagwa said Mr Mugabe has invited him to return 'for a discussion'
Zimbabwe's military chief Constantino Chiwenga said on Monday evening that a road map to hand over power had been agreed with Mr Mugabe.
Rubbing the noses of his opponents and most of his citizens, Mr Mugabe called a cabinet meeting on Tuesday at his official residence - but Zanu-PF told ministers not to attend.
Mr Mugabe has ruled Zimbabwe with an iron fist since 1980 and the end of British colonialism, but events last week have brought him to the brink.

'I am here because Mugabe must go'
The vice president's sacking put Mugabe's unpopular wife, Grace, in prime position to succeed him.
The army promptly seized power and put the President under house arrest - but insisted it had not staged a coup.
Despite the impeachment machinery getting moving on Tuesday, lawyers have told Sky News it could take months to prise him from power.

2. 1979: Robert Mugabe and the Zimbabwe African People's Union (ZAPU) leader Joshua Nkomo at the Lancaster House talks that led to the end of colonial rule

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   Image: 1980: Mr Mugabe and then UK prime minister Margaret Thatcher meet the year Rhodesia became Zimbabwe

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   Image: 1980: Mr Mugabe, then newly elected as Prime Minister of Zimbabwe, holds a press conference in his garden

5. Image: 1982: Mr Mugabe visited the Queen at Buckingham Palace with his first wife, Sally

6. Image: 1984: Mr Mugabe addressing a crowd at Harare stadium - a year after suppressing an armed rebellion in Ndebeleland

7. Image: 1984: He was awarded Doctor Honoris Causa at the University of Harare, an institution he would later be chancellor of

8. Image: 1986: Mr Mugabe leaves the scene of the African National Congress (ANC) offices that were bombed days earlier by a South African commando

9. Image: 1986: Cuban president Fidel Castro (C) shares a laugh with Zimbabwean president Canaan Banana (R) and then prime minister Mr Mugabe (L)

10. Image: 1988: Mr Mugabe speaks to the press at the United Nations, about the Africa Prize for Leadership

11. Image: 1993: Chinese president Jiang Zemin (L) welcomes Mr Mugabe (R) with a Chinese honour guard during a welcoming ceremony outside the Great Hall of the People in Beijing

12. Image: 1996: Robert and Grace Mugabe married in a ceremony attended by 6,000 guests

13. Image: The couple became known for their outfits. She was nicknamed 'First Shopper' and 'Gucci Grace'

14. Image: 2005: Mr Mugabe was sometimes seen asleep in public in later years, such as here at an African Union meeting, but friends insisted he remained sharp of mind

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    Image: Mr Mugabe addresses a rally in Sanyati, November 2005, on the eve of the senatorial elections

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    Image: 2017: With his time in office drawing to a close, Mr Mugabe was seen negotiating with generals. Pic: Herald newspaper

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    Image: 1979: Robert Mugabe and the Zimbabwe African People's Union (ZAPU) leader Joshua Nkomo at the Lancaster House talks that led to the end of colonial rule

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Tarisai Mutangi, a constitutional lawyer, said: "He knows the law is on his side, that the constitution is on his side and that the kingpins of this process want to do it constitutionally, and that means it's going to take quite some time."
Under the Zimbabwean constitution, the president can be impeached for four things:
:: Serious misconduct
:: Failure to obey, uphold or defend this constitution
:: Wilful violation of this Constitution
:: Inability to perform the functions of the office because of physical or mental incapacity