Most people in Harare had spent the night glued to social media and the Internet for updates on a coup slowly unfolding against 93-year-old Mugabe, Zimbabwe's leader of the last 37 years. Just after 4 am, an army spokesman in camouflage fatigues appeared on state media to announce that the army had seized power. The Zimbabwean military is in charge of a paramilitary police support unit depot in Harare and has disarmed police officers there, an army source told Reuters. South Africa's President Jacob Zuma spoke to Zimbabwean Mugabe on Wednesday, and Mugabe told him he was confined to his home but that he was fine, the South African presidency said in a statement. Zimbabwe's military seized power early on Wednesday targeting "criminals" around Mugabe but gave assurances on national television that the leader and his family were "safe and sound".

Source: The Star November 15, 2017 12:00 UTC