In Zimbabwe, longtime leader Robert Mugabe has stunned party leaders and opposition groups by refusing to resign as president. The announcement by the 93-year-old Mugabe came days after Zimbabwe’s military seized government buildings across the capital, Harare, placing Mugabe under house arrest. On Sunday evening, Mugabe gave a televised address acknowledging the country’s problems, but did not mention stepping down.
President Robert Mugabe: “Whatever the pros and cons of the way they went about registering those concerns, I, as the president of Zimbabwe and as their commander-in-chief, do acknowledge the issues they have drawn my attention to, and do believe that these were raised in the spirit of honesty and out of deep and patriotic concern for the stability of our nation.”
Mugabe’s announcement came after Zimbabwe’s ruling party, ZANU-PF, has stripped him of his office under threat of impeachment and removed him from the party. Other members of the party, including first lady Grace Mugabe, were also expelled. We’ll have more on the crisis in Zimbabwe after headlines.