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| Robert Mugabe pleads for 'a few more days' as Zimbabwe war veterans' leader says 'the game is up' | Robert Mugabe pleads for 'a few more days' as Zimbabwe war veterans' leader says 'the game is up' |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe is said to have pleaded for "a few more days" in power as an influential group of military veterans warned his time was up. | Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe is said to have pleaded for "a few more days" in power as an influential group of military veterans warned his time was up. |
| The group's leader Chris Mutsvangwa, an ally of the recently fired vice-president Emmerson Mnangagwa, said they would "settle the scores tomorrow" if Mr Mugabe did not step down. | |
| Zimbabwe remained in political limbo on Friday as the President looked to resist attempts to oust him following this week's military takeover. | |
| Mr Mutsvangwa said Mr Mugabe had asked for "a few more days, a few more months" amid negotiations with army chiefs over the end of his reign. | |
| He told reporters in Zimbabwe's capital Harare that "between now and tomorrow" they will warn the President that the game up. | |
| "He has to make a decision today to leave," he said "If he doesn't leave, we will settle the scores tomorrow." | |
| Mr Mutsvangwa is chairman of the Zimbabwe National Liberation War Veterans Association, which has close ties with and influence over Mr Mugabe's ruling Zanu-PF party. | |
| The 93-year-old has insisted he remains in charge but looks almost certain to be forced from office, with his party stating there "is no going back". | |
| Senior Zanu-PF figures were set to meet on Friday to draft a resolution to dismiss Mr Mugabe and lay the ground for his impeachment if he refuses to stand down. | |
| "If he becomes stubborn, we will arrange for him to be fired on Sunday," a senior party source said. "When that is done, it's impeachment on Tuesday." | |
| Mr Mutsvangwa described President's appearance at a university graduation ceremony on Friday as a "pretence". It was the first time the President had been seen in public since being placed under house arrest. | |
| The war veterans leader said they were "on the same page" with South Africa's government, which has sent Cabinet ministers to negotiate with Mr Mugabe. | |
| The President was taken into military custody on Tuesday night during what the army described as a "bloodless correction". | |
| A helicopter hovered over his Presidential motorcade as it moved through the capital on Friday to the graduation ceremony at Zimbabwe Open University. | |
| Several thousands graduates and guests stood as he entered a tent set up for the event with his security guards and other dignitaries. Wearing an academic gown and mortar board, he walked slowly along a red carpet in a procession to a podium as a marching band played. | |
| Once on the podium, Mr Mugabe joined the crowd in singing Zimbabwe's national anthem before announcing the opening of the graduation ceremony to applause. | |
| There was no sign of his wife Grace Mugabe, whose whereabouts are unclear. | |
| More follows… | More follows… |