But just before the speaker of parliament could wrap up the business of the day, Minister of Legal Affairs Happyton Bonyongwe arrived with the resignation letter.
“My decision to resign is voluntary on my part . My desire is to ensure a peaceful, non-violent transition,” read the letter by Mugabe, who has been in power for 37 years.
The 93-year-old clung on even after his expulsion on Sunday from his ruling Zanu-PF party, which begged him to relinquish power.
Wild celebrations broke out at the joint sitting of parliament when Speaker Jacob Mudenda announced Mugabe’s resignation and suspended the impeachment procedure.
The news soon filtered to the streets of Harare, where Zimbabweans danced and sang, many wrapped in the country’s flag. Zimbabweans also took to the streets of Yeoville and Hillbrow in Johannesburg.
“We woke up every day waiting for this day. This country has been through tough times,” Togo Ndhlalambi, 32, a hairdresser, said.
“I am so happy that Mugabe is gone; 37 years under a dictatorship is not a joke,” said Tinashe Chakanetsa, 18.
“I am hoping for a new Zimbabwe ruled by the people and not by one person.”
#ThisFlag activist Pastor Evan Mawarire, who was arrested and detained by the government earlier this year for subversion and “insulting the national flag of Zimbabwe”, was overwhelmed by the development.
“We did it. The world thought we couldn’t do it. We never, ever thought this would happen,” said Mawarire in a tearful interview with the SABC.
Mugabe’s sudden downfall lies in rivalry between members of Zimbabwe’s ruling elite over who will succeed him, rather than popular protests against his rule.
