Robert Mugabe Under House Arrest As Rule Over Zimbabwe Teeters

President Robert Mugabe, who ruthlessly ruled Zimbabwe for nearly four deceased as one of Africa's last liberation leaders still in power, was under house arrest on Wednesday, hours after the military announced it had taken him into custody in what appeared to be a coup.


The fate of Mr. Mugabe, 93, who kept a tight grip on his southern African nation despite his increasing frailty and diplomatic isolation from the west, appeared to be in the hands of former allies and opposition official's negotiating his future.

In the capital Harare about half a dozen tanks were stationed around strategic government buildings and intersections. but shops and banks were open, and most people carried on business as usual, perhaps because the apparent coup had occurred without violence or resistance. Soldiers blocked the main road leading to the airport, which Mr. Mugabe, had renamed after himself just last week.

The military did not say whether Mr. Mugabe has been removed as president, leaving open the possibility that he may be kept on during a period of transition. but whatever happens to him, it appeared increasingly clear on Wednesday that an ear was coming to a close in Africa.

Power appeared to be slipping from Mr. Mugabe as outside forces were determining his fate.

For nearly four decades, Mr, Mugabe exercised unrivaled authority by distributing healthy doses of power, land and dear. He crushed dissent by overseeing the massacre of thousands of civilians in the 1980s and effortlessly outmaneuvered both rivals in his party and in the opposition.

His dominance was so overwhelming that, even in his 90s and weakened by age, potential successors showed extreme deference, choosing to stay quiet until his eventual death.