Zimbabwe President Robert Mugabe has been detained by the country’s military, his ruling party Zanu-PF says.
Several members of his Cabinet, who have since been branded “crooks” and “criminals”, have been arrested in what the military terms a “a bloodless transition”.
“There was no coup, only a bloodless transition which saw corrupt and crooked persons being arrested and an elderly man who had been taken advantage of by his wife being detained,” Zanu PF said in a Twitter post on Wednesday.
“The few bangs that were heard were from crooks who were resisting arrest, but they are now detained.”
However, there are questions over who is in control of some of the accounts associated with the ruling party and its warring factions.
The party on Wednesday also appeared to defend Mr Mugabe’s detention, saying it was necessary for the “for the Constitution and the sanity of the nation”.
The detention came as Mr Emmerson Mnangagwa, the vice-president fired by President Mugabe recently, returned to the country, reportedly landing at the Manyame airbase.
“Zimbabweans stay calm & remain tuned to national news. I’m back in the country & will be quite busy over the next few days. My communication with you will now be via formal broadcasting channels so I’m unlikely to use Twitter handle. Thank you for the support & solidarity,” Mnangagwa tweeted.
“We salute & applaud the bravely of our ZDF who decisively rejected desperate last minute concessions by an Executive was to create a family dynasty. An army led transitional phase will now pave way for a peaceful, free & fair democratic elections.”
There is speculation that the military is likely to install him, a former general, as the head of government, with Mr Mugabe as a figurehead.
“Neither Zimbabwe nor Zanu-PF are owned by Mugabe and his wife. Today begins a fresh new era and comrade Mnangagwa will help us achieve a better Zimbabwe,” the party said in a separate tweet.
The party insisted that the situation was under control as it denied reports of mutiny.
“Zanu-PF has a way of solving our own problems, the situation is stable and Zimbabwe is open for business,” it said.
“There was no coup, but a bloodless peaceful transition— the centre is strong and there is peace with honest leadership.”
REACTIONS
The administrators of the Zanu-PF Twitter account have since declared their allegiance to Mr Mnangagwa.
“This account will either be quiet or present the views of Zanu-PF and comrade Mnangagwa. Hence forth consider this official. To respond to concerns from media, this account will report to EM (Emmerson Mnangagwa) . It is not controlled by a faction.”
An opposition MP has told the BBC’s Newsday programme that he believes the move by the military is being masterminded by Mr Mnangagwa.
Mr Eddie Cross, who was elected on the Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) ticket, said Mr Mnangagwa was chairman of the joint operations command, which is a military structure that has been in existence since independence.
“Nothing like this could have happened without him. He’s a brilliant operator and organiser,” he told the BBC.
“I think very shortly we will hear that Mr Mugabe has retired from political life and he’s appointed Emmerson Mnangagwa as his successor.”
CRACKDOWN
Meanwhile, in a pointer to a likely crackdown on pro-Mugabe Zanu-PF leaders, the party’s youth wing leader, who had vowed to die in defence of the besieged president, has been arrested in Harare.
Mr Kudzai Chipanga, the president of Zanu-PF National Youth League, was arrested alongside Mr Albert Ngulube, Deputy Director Central Intelligence Organisation, according to local media.
Mr Chipanga was one of the staunch supporters of Mr Mugabe and his wife Grace, as his successor.
On Tuesday, Mr Chipanga hit out at the military and General Constantino Chiwenga after the Army chief condemned President Mugabe’s purge in Zanu- PF and threatened to “step in”.
