Robert Mugabe still clinging to power in Zimbabwe after delivering TV address

Robert Mugabe was still clinging to power on Sunday evening, delivering a televised address to the people of Zimbabwe in which he acknowledged the difficulties facing their country but offered so sign he was preparing to resign. Speculation swirled all afternoon that he would use the speech to announce he was leaving office after the ruling Zanu-PF party fired him as its leader following 37 years in charge. Instead, flanked by army officers, he promised to preside over the party's congress in December. He praised the country for the peaceful way it was dealing with the current crisis and said it was understandable that failures of the past had triggered anger. “We cannot be divided by bitterness or vengefulness, which would not make us any better party members, or any better Zimbabweans,” he said.  A screen grab of Mr Mugabe's speech shown on the Zimbabwe Broadcasting Corporation Credit: AFP And he invoked the memory of the country’s liberation struggle in an effort to unite the warring factions. “I am confident that from tonight our whole nation at all levels gets refocused as we put shoulder to the wheel amidst the promising agricultural season of rain upon us,” he said. “Let us all move forward reminding ourselves of our wartime mantra [you and I have work to do]. I thank you and good night.” With the camera still rolling, he apologised to the army generals beside him for fluffing the lines and said he hoped it could be corrected. Ruling party: Mugabe must resign as president by noon Monday 01:22 A party insider said the speech may be part of a carefully choreographed exit. “This means he stays in office until the congress where he can then retire with dignity rather then now in front of the generals standing over him," he said. Earlier Zanu-PF had given the 93-year-old less than 24 hours to quit as head of state or face impeachment, an attempt to secure a peaceful end to his tenure after a de facto coup. Mr Mugabe was replaced as leader by his former deputy Emmerson Mnangagwa.  Mr Mugabe on Sunday met with the army commander who put him under house arrest, while the ruling party opened an emergency meeting to recall the world's oldest head of state as its leader. Zimbabwe's ruling party Central Committee members stood and cheered at the decision. Obert Mpofu, minister of home affairs, said that they met with "a heavy heart" because Mr Mugabe, 93, had served the country and contributed "many memorable achievements." Protesters demanding the resignation of Robert Mugabwe in Harare Credit: AFP He added that Mr Mugabe's wife "and close associates have taken advantage of his frail condition" to loot national resources.  His wife Grace Mugabe was also expelled from the party and banned for life. She, along with several cabinet ministers, is set to be prosecuted, a Zanu-PF delegate said. Mr Mugabe and army chiefs met for further talks Sunday afternoon, state media said, as pressure builds on the veteran leader to resign. Mr Mugabe's hold on power was broken this week when the military took over in a dispute over who would succeed him. "President Robert Mugabe will meet the command element of the Zimbabwe Defence Forces tomorrow," state television announced on Saturday. The two sides first met for talks on Thursday, smiling in photographs that attempted to present a dignified image of the tense process of negotiating Mr Mugabe's departure. Mr Mugabe met Gen Constantino Chiwenga (R) on Thuesday Credit: AFP/ZBC In scenes of public euphoria not seen since independence in 1980, huge crowds marched and sang their way through Harare and other cities on Saturday, demanding the end of Mugabe's authoritarian rule. The marches came after a historic week in which the military seized power and put Mugabe under house arrest in response to his sacking of Mnangagwa, a perceived rival of Mugabe's powerful 52-year-old wife Grace who had increasingly voiced her ambition to succeed her spouse.

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