Thousands of protesters flooded Zimbabwe’s streets demanding Robert Mugabe’s resignation on Saturday in a movement organised by independence war veterans and backed by ruling party barons and the army. The mass turnout came after an unprecedented week which saw the army’s top brass seizing power and putting Mugabe under house arrest in response to his sacking of Vice President Emmerson Mnangagwa. It was a stunning turnaround for Mugabe who has ruled Zimbabwe with an iron fist since 1980. Veterans of the liberation war, who previously supported Mugabe, had called the gathering which saw marchers rallying in Highfield, a working-class suburb of Harare. “This is the best day of my life. We are hoping for a new life after Mugabe,” said 38-year-old Sam Sechete who was marching at Highfield with a crutch. A symbolic location, Highfield was where Mugabe gave his first speech after returning from exile in Mozambique ahead of independence in 1980. Demonstrators, who began arriving around mid...
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