The motion is now due to be presented to parliament on Tuesday.

Senior party member Paul Mangawana said the process could take as little as two days to complete, and President Mugabe could be removed by Wednesday.

A deadline set by Zanu-PF for his resignation passed on Monday.

Grace Mugabe was seen as a potential successor to the ageing president before the military intervention last week.

Zimbabwe’s constitution allows for impeachment on grounds of “serious misconduct”, “violation” of the constitution or “failure to obey, uphold or defend” it, or “incapacity”.

Mr Mangawana said President Mugabe had also failed to implement the constitution, and his advanced age meant he was no longer fit for office.

“He is a stubborn man, he can hear the voices of the people, but is refusing to listen,” he said.

Impeachment proceedings are now expected to be launched on Tuesday, with votes in both the National Assembly and the Senate.

Both chambers must then appoint a joint committee to investigate removing the president.

If the committee recommends impeachment, the president can then be removed if both houses back it with two-thirds majorities.

“We are expecting the motion to be moved tomorrow… and hopefully by Wednesday – because the charges are so clear – we expect that by Wednesday, we should be able to vote in parliament,” Mr Mangawana said.

“The main charge is that he has allowed his wife to usurp constitutional power when she has no right to run government. But she is insulting civil servants, the vice president, at public rallies. They are denigrating the army – those are the charges,” he said.

“He has refused to implement the constitution of Zimbabwe – particularly we had elections for the provincial councils, but up to now they have not been put into office.”

“He is of advanced age, that he no longer has the physical capacity to run government,” he added.

On Sunday, Mr Mugabe gave a televised address which surprised many Zimbabweans because it made no mention of the pressure from his party and the public to quit.

Surrounded by generals, he declared that the military had done nothing wrong by seizing power and placing him under house arrest.

He then vowed to preside over the Zanu-PF party congress, due in a few weeks.

The BBC’s Africa Editor, Fergal Keane, said his understanding of the situation was that Mr Mugabe had agreed to resign, but then changed his mind.

Mr Mugabe is now opposed by his own party as well as the political opposition, military, and powerful War Veterans Association.

The public has also poured on to the streets in protest, calling for the end of Mr Mugabe’s 37-year presidency.

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Source: BBC

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In a live TV address, Mr Mugabe said he would preside over the ruling party’s congress in December.

The Zanu-PF earlier sacked him as party leader, and gave him less than 24 hours to resign as president or be impeached.

His grip on power has weakened since the military intervened last week in a row over who should succeed him.

A crisis was triggered after Mr Mugabe sacked his deputy, Emmerson Mnangagwa, two weeks ago, angering the army who saw it as an attempt to move his wife, Grace, into the position of his successor.

Earlier on Sunday, Mr Mnangagwa was named as Zanu-PF’s new leader and candidate for the 2018 general elections.

At the same party meeting, Mr Mugabe’s 52-year-old wife, Grace, was expelled from the party, alongside a number of other senior officials.

It is not entirely clear how Robert Mugabe can preside over Zanu-PF’s congress next month, following his dismissal as party leader.

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Source: BBC

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The declaration of the Robert Mugabe National Youth Day came after lobbying by the ruling ZANU-PF party’s youth league.

“In declaring this day, we would like to highlight to our youths the values and principles so brilliantly displayed by President R.G. Mugabe which have resulted in an exemplary life that our youths can emulate,” state-owned Herald newspaper quoted home affairs minister Ignatius Chombo as saying.

He said the cabinet made the decision after years of lobbying by the ruling party which also said it wants the country’s main airport named after Mugabe.

Mugabe, now 93 years old, first came to power after Zimbabwe’s independence from Britain. He says he plans to contest elections due next year despite his advanced age and concerns over his frail health.

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Source: AFP

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