ZIMBABWE: Thousands celebrate Mugabe’s expected fall as 93-yr-old leader says he’s “ready to die for what is correct”

Thousands of Zimbabweans have thronged the streets of Harare celebrating the expected fall of 93-year-old President Robert Mugabe who has been in power since 1980 when the country gained independence.

Reports say among the many that marched through the streets of Harare in celebration were men, women and children who ran alongside the armored cars and troops that stepped in this week to oust Mugabe.

Most of them were seen waving national flags, singing and dancing in an outpouring of elation as most Zimbabweans spoke of a second liberation for the former British colony.

Read also: Allies turn their backs as pressure mounts on Mugabe to step down

“These are tears of joy,” Frank Mutsindikwa, 34, told Reuters, holding aloft the Zimbabwean flag. “I’ve been waiting all my life for this day. Free at last. We are free at last.”

According to reports, the independence war fighters’ association called for the mass rally in Harare, when they earlier urged residents to march to State House in large numbers to demand Mugabe’s resignation.

Two days ago, the leader of Zimbabwe’s opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC), Morgan Tsvangirai also called on Mugabe to step down from power in the interest of the country after the military seized power.

However, Mugabe will not go down without a fight according to his nephew, Patrick Zhuwao who was speaking to Reuters from a secret location in South Africa, when he said the president had hardly slept since the military seized power on Wednesday but his health was otherwise “good”.

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