Summary

  • President Mugabe failed to resign before deadline

  • Ruling Zanu-PF party said it would start impeachment proceedings

  • They accuse First Lady Grace Mugabe of usurping power

  • They also say the 93-year-old is too old to be physically capable

  • He has already been dismissed as leader of Zanu-PF party

  • His sacked deputy Emmerson Mnangagwa is now Zanu-PF leader

  • First Lady Grace Mugabe has been expelled from the party

  1. Capping another extraordinary daypublished at 17:25 Greenwich Mean Time 20 November 2017

    We're ending our live coverage of the ongoing political crisis in Zimbabwe. You can keep up-to-date with the latest news on BBCNews.com.

    This is how things stand so far:

    And here is some reading to catch up on:

    Join bbc.com/africalive for more updates on Tuesday from 09:00 GMT.

  2. Overwhelming support for impeachmentpublished at 17:25 Greenwich Mean Time 20 November 2017

    A Zimbabwean journalist has tweeted that 230 out of 260 MPs back the impeachment of President Robert Mugabe.

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    The impeachment vote is expected to take place on Wednesday.

    Read:How impeachment works

  3. Mugabe Airport sign covered uppublished at 17:19 Greenwich Mean Time 20 November 2017

    It appears that the name on the RG Mugabe Airport has been covered up:

    Mugabe airport signImage source, AFP

    Harare International Airport was renamed after President Robert Mugabe earlier this month.

    Transport Minister Joram Gumbo said at the time that they changed the name in Mr Mugabe's honour because he was seen as a "war hero" and "African icon".

    It is unclear whether the old name was covered up after the change or if someone has taken the initiative to cover the new name.

    We'll also be watching to see if the RG Mugabe name stays for long.

  4. Impeachment 'goes against mediators instructions'published at 16:51 Greenwich Mean Time 20 November 2017

    Trevor Ncube suggests that the move to impeach Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe goes against what a mediator has been pushing for:

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    The Telegraph reports that, external The Catholic priest Fidelis Mukonori had already been acting as a mediator between Mr Mugabe and the army generals earlier this week.

  5. Mugabe 'let wife usurp power'published at 16:38 Greenwich Mean Time 20 November 2017

    Robert and Grace MugabeImage source, AFP
    Image caption,

    Grace Mugabe was accused of insulting officials

    Zanu-PF politician Paul Mangwana has told journalists the charges they are putting to parliament to argue for President Robert Mugabe to be impeached:

    Quote Message

    The main charges that he has allowed his wife to usurp [constitutional] power when she has no right to run government. But she's insulting civil servants, the vice-president at public rallies. They are denigrating the army.

    Quote Message

    One of the major charges are that he refused to implement the constitution of Zimbabwe. Particularly with election for provincial councils but up to now they have never put into office.

    Quote Message

    Thirdly he is of advanced age, that he no longer has the physical capacity to run government."

    Read more on the BBC News website.

  6. Mugabe calls for cabinet meetingpublished at 16:17 Greenwich Mean Time 20 November 2017

    One of our colleagues in Zimbabwe's capital Harare is reporting that President Robert Mugabe has called for a cabinet meeting tomorrow.

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    We have just reported that Jonathan Moyo, one of the government ministers, tweeted that he along with a group of ministers are outside the country.

    Reuters news agency adds that cabinet meetings are usually held at Munhumutapa Building in the centre of town, but an armoured vehicle and armed soldiers are camped outside the offices.

  7. Grace Mugabe ally 'had vowed not to flee'published at 16:11 Greenwich Mean Time 20 November 2017

    Zimbabwe Review, external, which monitors media content in the country, has been looking at the Twitter timeline of government minister Jonathan Moyo after he reportedly left the country.

    A tweet on his account, which has since been deleted, said he and 50 others were out of the country "in these difficult and trying times".

    Zimbabwe Review points out that he tweeted on 9 November a criticism of officials leaving the country:

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    The tweet appears to be a reaction to reports that sacked Vice-President Emmerson Mnangagwa had fled the country.

    On 10 November he called people who leave the country "cowards":

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  8. Mugabe impeachment vote 'to happen on Wednesday'published at 15:37 Greenwich Mean Time 20 November 2017

    The BBC's Africa editor tweets that it looks like the vote over impeaching Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe should happen in two days:

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    He adds that the process should be quick:

  9. Mugabe ally: '50 officials outside the country'published at 15:29 Greenwich Mean Time 20 November 2017

    A top Zanu-PF official and an ally of First Lady Grace Mugabe has tweeted that he and other 50 party officials are outside the country.

    Jonathan Moyo tweeted that he is "relatively fine".

    The tweet has however been deleted but we manged to get a screengrab of it:

    ScreengrabImage source, Twitter/ Jonathan Moyo

    Mr Moyo, who is also the minister for higher education, is among party officials that were pushing for Mrs Mugabe to take over from her husband.

  10. Where is the crocodile?published at 15:20 Greenwich Mean Time 20 November 2017

    Emmerson MnangagwaImage source, AFP
    Image caption,

    Mr Mnangagwa was last seen on 4 November during a public rally

    There is uncertainty over the whereabouts of Emmerson Mnangagwa whose sacking as vice-president triggered the military takeover in Zimbabwe.

    Several media reports say he returned to Zimbabwe last week having fled the country after he was fired.

    The 263Chat news site, external is reporting that his handlers are keeping him away from the public to guarantee his security.

    The site quotes a Zanu-PF official Patrick Chinamasa saying Mr Mnangagwa, who is nicknamed the crocodile, will be seen in public when his security is guaranteed.

    “We have mapped a clear road map for the smooth transfer of power and Mnangagwa will come back to assume that leading role. We don’t know where his is but he is on his way back,” Mr Chinamasa said.

    Another party official Obert Mpofu told a media briefing yesterday that Mr Mnangagwa's absence shows he has self control:

    “He is a disciplined cadre and has been under attack from negative forces but kept quiet, traits he got from the war. it is that quietness that has bore some good fruits into all this saga".

    Mr Mnangagwa was last seen on 4 November during a public rally, 263Chat reports.

    Read:Emmerson Mnangagwa: The 'crocodile' who snapped back

  11. Mugabe 'will delay as much as possible'published at 15:14 Greenwich Mean Time 20 November 2017

    Robert MugabeImage source, AFP
    Image caption,

    Mr Mugabe defied expectations that he would resign in his TV speech

    One curious part of Robert Mugabe's speech yesterday was his declaration that he planned to preside over the Zanu-PF congress next month.

    Zimbabwean constitutional lawyer Alex Magaisa told BBC Focus on Africa that maybe he knew that the process of impeachment could take a long time:

    Quote Message

    People underestimate that old man. He thinks far more than the people dealing with him. He already knows what is coming. He will delay this process as much as possible to ensure it gets to congress."

    We reported earlier on the complex process that lies ahead.

  12. Mugabe 'is a very stubborn man'published at 14:37 Greenwich Mean Time 20 November 2017

    Zanu-PF's representative in the UK has been talking to the BBC, giving some insight into why Robert Mugabe has not resigned yet:

    Quote Message

    As we all know, President Mugabe is a very stubborn man. In his mindset he believes that the British came for him, and he defied them. The Americans tried through sanctions and he defied, the European Union he defied.

    Quote Message

    So he has defied everybody and he believes his own, as he calls them, boys, would not be able to make him to do what superpowers have failed to do."

    Nick Mangwana was speaking on BBC Radio 4's The World At One:

    Media caption,

    Zanu-PF's UK representative says the case to impeach the President is a 'fait accompli'

  13. Opposition 'to consult on impeachment plans'published at 14:37 Greenwich Mean Time 20 November 2017

    MPs from Zimbabwe's main opposition party, MDC, will meet to decide on whether to support a push to impeach President Robert Mugabe.

    The party's chief whip told Reuters news agency that lawmakers will meet on Tuesday to discuss the plan.

    Reuters reports that the governing Zanu-PF has the requisite two-thirds needed to trigger impeachment, but that opposition support would boost the process of removing Mr Mugabe.

  14. Was Robert Mugabe stopped from resigning?published at 14:20 Greenwich Mean Time 20 November 2017

    People watching Robert Mugabe speech 19 NovemberImage source, Reuters
    Image caption,

    People anticipated a resignation

    One of the key questions today is: Why has Robert Mugabe not resigned as president of Zimbabwe?

    There is one theory that the plan was for Mr Mugabe to resign in a televised speech last night but there was a last minute change-of-heart.

    We reported earlier that people are sharing video which they claim appears to show the speech being switched.

    Two political sources told Reuters news agency that Mr Mugabe had actually agreed to resign but the ruling party Zanu-PF did not want him to quit in front of the military because that would have made its intervention on Wednesday look like a coup.

  15. Zambian ex-president stays at homepublished at 14:17 Greenwich Mean Time 20 November 2017

    We said earlier that Reuters was reporting that the ex-Zambian President Kenneth Kaunda has been sent to Zimbabwe to convince President Robert Mugabe to resign.

    So we looked into it.

    Our colleague talked to Mr Kaunda's son who told her he was next to him watching the events unfold on TV and had not been asked to go to Zimbabwe.

  16. Zanu-PF 'outlines reasons for Mugabe's impeachment'published at 13:23 Greenwich Mean Time 20 November 2017

    Zimbabwe's ruling party Zanu-PF has shared its draft impeachment motion with Reuters news agency.

    The draft motion reportedly says President Robert Mugabe is a "source of instability", has shown disrespect for the rule of law and is to blame for an unprecedented economic tailspin over the past 15 years.

    Parliament is expected to debate impeaching Mr Mugabe when it next meets, on Tuesday.

    People smoking Zimbabwe's dollarImage source, AFP
    Image caption,

    Zimbabwe's dollar became worthless under Mr Mugabe's rule

  17. Zanu-PF plans march to Mugabe's residencepublished at 13:10 Greenwich Mean Time 20 November 2017

    An official of the governing Zanu-PF has called on Zimbabweans to join another planned protest against President Robert Mugabe.

    Nick Mangwana, who heads the party's office in the UK, has shared a poster for Wednesday's planned march.

    He says that people should march to Mr Mugabe's residence in the capital which is known as Blue Roof:

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    He has posted the tweet again with the correct date:

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  18. Zimbabweans 'confused and impatient'published at 12:52 Greenwich Mean Time 20 November 2017

    Zimbabweans calling on Mugabe to step downImage source, AFP
    Image caption,

    Despite a show of public defiance against President Mugabe people are still afraid

    The BBC's Andrew Harding has been speaking to Zimbabweans on the streets of the capital Harare.

    He reports that there is a feeling of growing frustration after President Robert Mugabe failed to resign last night as had been expected.

    He says people feel confused and impatient.

    A taxi driver told him that he had expected Mr Mugabe to leave office last night:

    Quote Message

    He was supposed to be looking after his family... [he should] stay in Singapore, Malaysia where he has assets."

    Others said that despite Saturday's public show of defiance as people rallied to urge President Mugabe to go, they were still afraid.

    Harare resident Lydia Gombe told our reporter that after years of repressive rule, many Zimbabweans still fear that they might get into trouble if they speak out against the government:

    Quote Message

    The level of fear that these people have instilled in us as a nation is unbelievable. And it is just simple things. WhatsApp texts can get you arrested. A conversation in the bus can get you arrested."

    She adds that it would take time for people to lose their fear of speaking out.

  19. Zimbabwe crisis in two minutespublished at 12:19 Greenwich Mean Time 20 November 2017

    The deadline set by the governing Zanu-PF party for President Robert Mugabe to resign has passed without any significant development.

    As we all wait to see what happens next in Zimbabwe, here's a look back at the extraordinary events of the past week, in this two-minute-long video:

  20. Mugabe's impeachment 'can be done in 24 hours'published at 11:58 Greenwich Mean Time 20 November 2017

    President Robert MugabeImage source, AFP

    We are getting reports in that the governing Zanu-PF party will proceed to discuss the impeachment of President Robert Mugabe after his resignation deadline lapsed.

    The party's chief whip Lovemore Matuke told Reuters news agency the party's MPs had planned to meet today.

    Our previous post points out that legal advisers to Zimbabwe's parliament say the impeachment could take several days to complete.

    Reuters has a faster estimate - saying that, because of the overwhelming support for the removal of Mr Mugabe, it could take a day.

    It quotes John Makamure from the Southern African Parliamentary Support Trust saying the move could take 24 hours:

    "They can fast-track it. It can be done in a matter of a day."