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Article snippet: HARARE, Zimbabwe — Robert Mugabe, 93, who ruled Zimbabwe with an iron grip until the military placed him under house arrest last week, shocked the nation on Sunday night by refusing to say whether he would resign. Many political observers and fellow Zimbabweans had been expecting Mr. Mugabe to step down as president after nearly 40 years in power. But the embattled president gave a 20-minute televised speech that acknowledged problems in the nation — and he vowed to soldier on. “The era of victimization and arbitrary decisions” must end, Mr. Mugabe said while sitting at a table, flanked by members of the military and other officials, including a priest. He also declared that he would oversee his governing party’s congress in a few weeks. “I will preside over its processes, which must not be prepossessed by any acts calculated to undermine it or to compromise the outcomes in the eyes of the public,” he said. Observers questioned how Mr. Mugabe could oversee the congress if he was no longer leader of the party: His address came hours after he was expelled as leader of his party, ZANU-PF, which gave him until noon on Monday to resign or face impeachment by Parliament. Party officials earlier on Sunday also removed his wife, Grace Mugabe, as head of the ZANU-PF Women’s League and barred her from the party for life. So were Jonathan Moyo, Zimbabwe’s minister of higher and tertiary education; and Saviour Kasukuwere, the minister of local government. Mr. Mugabe’s second... Link to the full article to read more