Johannesburg - The Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) welcomed Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe's resignation after 37 years at the helm, urging the rest of the world to respect the full immunity granted to the 93-year-old by his party, the Zanu-PF.
"We commend him for respecting this decision despite the fact that the Zimbabwe Defence Force had imposed and forced a transitional condition on his government," spokesman Mbuyiseni Ndlozi said in a statement.
"We call on the people of the world to accept the settlement reached by Mugabe and Zanu-PF which includes full immunity for him and his family. This is a perfect outcome for peace and stability in Zimbabwe which will allow Zimbabweans to define a post-Mugabe era."
Last week, the red berets urged the South African government to grant Mugabe political asylum, arguing that Mugabe "remained one of us despite his mistakes as Zimbabwean president".
"As a matter of fact, he does not need any passport to come and live in South Africa and we shall never confine our relationship with him as an African leader to colonially imposed borders," Mbuyiseni said at the time.
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"We call on the [African National Congress] ANC to be decisive for once in their lives and grant President Mugabe political asylum. This will advance peace in Zimbabwe and provide even better conditions for Zimbabweans to move faster into a better future under a democratic civilian rule."
Zimbabwean Speaker of Parliament Jacob Mudenda announced Mugabe’s resignation when the two Houses of Parliament — Upper and Lower — were seated at the Harare International Conference Centre in the capital, moving a motion to impeach Mugabe.
He said he had received a letter from the President, bringing the impeachment process to halt.
The 93-year-old Mugabe has been president of Zimbabwe for 37 years, since the country attained independence from colonial rule in 1980. News of Mugabe's much awaited resignation triggered celebrations in the capital, Harare as people took to the streets to mark the end of the country's fallen liberation hero.
Social media was abuzz with Zimbabweans across the world celebrating the announcement.