Army chief who took power from Mugabe faces sanction

Following the resignation of Robert Mugabe of Zimbabwe as President, Gen. Constantine Chiwenga, 61, is being hailed as a political saviour after he led the military takeover.

However, the General is under sanctions from the European Union and the United States – for his role in a brutal crackdown on the opposition, and over the seizure of white-owned farms.

The 93-year-old leader announced his resignation in a letter read by the Speaker on Tuesday afternoon.

There is jubilation on the streets of Harare, the capital of Zimbabwe as the news of Mugabe’s resignation, after close to four decades of his administration, break out.

Pastor Patrick Mugadza, hounded by the police in January this year for predicting that the 93-year-old leader would die in nine months’ time, went as far as to announce that he intended to name his son after the general.

“My wife is very, very pregnant. When the boy comes, I will be naming him after you, General Chiwenga,” Zimbabwe’s privately owned NewsDay newspaper quoted him as saying in an audio message.