Zimbabwe protests and celebration
Emma Graham-Harrison in Harare
Saturday 18 November 2017 20.33 GMT Last modified on Saturday 18 November 2017 22.01 GMT
They came from all over Zimbabwe, streaming into the streets of Harare in a carnival of protest and celebration, determined to seal the peaceful but incontestable end of Robert Mugabe’s long rule.
Tens of thousands of Zimbabweans of every age, class, political persuasion and skin colour turned out, singing, chanting, dancing and sometimes crying, all exhilarated at the prospect of change, so fervently hoped for and until now so painfully elusive. Homeless squatters and street vendors marched beside wealthy entrepreneurs; Zanu-PF stalwarts and war veterans mixed with white farmers they had forced off their land.
“I can pretty much say this is our second independence day – we have waited for this a long time,” said Nyikayaramba, a 32-year-old IT worker. “We have suffered, and I praise God that this has finally happened. It’s a great time to be Zimbabwean.”
Zimbabwe: Mugabe's grip on power appears close to collapse
Read more
The green, yellow, red and black of the national flag dotted the crowd, draped as capes, waved in the air, printed on clothes and painted on faces, on a day unmarred by violence. Others carried placards, a mix of blunt, funny, celebratory and obscene. “Mugabe must rest” placards included a picture of the nonagenarian snoozing; others played on his common nickname to declare “Bob’s not my uncle”. Those without flags or placards waved tree branches in celebration.
As they marched through town, tearing down mementos of Mugabe’s rule, from road signs to giant posters, each step made it clearer that his iron grip had finally loosened after nearly four decades, even if he had not yet been formally removed from office.
“We are making history today,” said Teclar Mazanhi, who was born in 1980, the year Mugabe came to power. “We want a new Zimbabwe.”
It had been a week of excitement and confusion, the oldest head of state in the world abruptly toppled, then reappearing smiling in photos with the military officers who had him under house arrest. Even more disconcertingly, he emerged to preside over a graduation ceremony on Friday as if nothing had changed.z
Saturday 18 November 2017 20.33 GMT Last modified on Saturday 18 November 2017 22.01 GMT
They came from all over Zimbabwe, streaming into the streets of Harare in a carnival of protest and celebration, determined to seal the peaceful but incontestable end of Robert Mugabe’s long rule.
Tens of thousands of Zimbabweans of every age, class, political persuasion and skin colour turned out, singing, chanting, dancing and sometimes crying, all exhilarated at the prospect of change, so fervently hoped for and until now so painfully elusive. Homeless squatters and street vendors marched beside wealthy entrepreneurs; Zanu-PF stalwarts and war veterans mixed with white farmers they had forced off their land.
“I can pretty much say this is our second independence day – we have waited for this a long time,” said Nyikayaramba, a 32-year-old IT worker. “We have suffered, and I praise God that this has finally happened. It’s a great time to be Zimbabwean.”
Zimbabwe: Mugabe's grip on power appears close to collapse
Read more
The green, yellow, red and black of the national flag dotted the crowd, draped as capes, waved in the air, printed on clothes and painted on faces, on a day unmarred by violence. Others carried placards, a mix of blunt, funny, celebratory and obscene. “Mugabe must rest” placards included a picture of the nonagenarian snoozing; others played on his common nickname to declare “Bob’s not my uncle”. Those without flags or placards waved tree branches in celebration.
As they marched through town, tearing down mementos of Mugabe’s rule, from road signs to giant posters, each step made it clearer that his iron grip had finally loosened after nearly four decades, even if he had not yet been formally removed from office.
“We are making history today,” said Teclar Mazanhi, who was born in 1980, the year Mugabe came to power. “We want a new Zimbabwe.”
It had been a week of excitement and confusion, the oldest head of state in the world abruptly toppled, then reappearing smiling in photos with the military officers who had him under house arrest. Even more disconcertingly, he emerged to preside over a graduation ceremony on Friday as if nothing had changed.z
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