Harare, Zimbabwe (CNN)The decades-long grip on power of Zimbabwe’s President Robert Mugabe appeared to be over on Thursday as his main opposition rival returned to the country amid efforts to form a transitional government.
Morgan Tsvangirai, who had been receiving cancer treatment abroad, returned to Harare after Wednesday’s military takeover, two sources with knowledge of his movements said.
One source, a senior member of Tsvangirai’s Movement for Democratic Change (MDC-T) party, said talks were underway with military leaders about an administration that includes the opposition, with the tacit backing of key regional allies.
The source described the arrangement as a “a done deal,” but there was no indication on Thursday that Mugabe plans to go quietly. The 93-year-old leader, who is under house arrest in Harare, has not made any public statement since the military seized control Wednesday, throwing the country into political limbo.
Key developments
Mugabe in custody: South African President Jacob Zuma said the leader was detained at home but was “fine.”
Where is Mugabe’s wife?: The whereabouts of Grace Mugabe are unknown. The President appeared to be promoting his wife to succeed him, causing uproar within his party.
South African envoys: Two envoys dispatched by Zuma arrived in Harare for talks Thursday. Zuma, as chair of the Southern African Development Community (SADC), has called for a meeting in Botswana for Thursday.
It is a sudden shift for civilian Zimbabweans too, even though Mugabe’s downfall appears to have been years in the making.
“There are military tanks on the streets, which has never happened before,” said one Harare resident. “The military is obviously now in charge despite their insistence that it’s not a coup. It is.”
Soldiers are still manning the parliament, presidential palace and the state broadcaster.
But the capital has been calm over the past two days, and activities are resuming as usual, said a university student.
“The soldiers outside the president’s office are actually talking to folks passing by,” the student said.
The US embassy in Harare, however, urged Americans to “limit unnecessary movements.” It said that while the US government “does not take sides in matters of internal Zimbabwean politics,” it was deeply concerned by the military’s actions and called for restraint.
In his remarks on the military’s move, South Africa’s Zuma did not condemn the takeover Wednesday, a stance widely seen as tacit support for a change of government in the country.
A group of 115 civil society organizations called on Mugabe to peacefully step down, and for the Southern African Development Community (SADC) — which Zuma chairs — to step in a arbiter of the transition talks.
Mugabe’s brutal rule
Mugabe, the only leader most Zimbabweans have ever known, ruled the landlocked country for 37 years with an iron fist.
He rose to power as a freedom fighter and was seen as Zimbabwe’s Nelson Mandela. But he quickly waged a campaign of oppression to consolidate his position, extinguishing the political opposition through violent crackdowns.
Among them was a string of massacres in opposition strongholds, in which thousands were killed. Some of those campaigns of terror were believed to be orchestrated by Mnangagwa when he was the country’s spy chief in the 1980s.
Mugabe’s hardline policies also pushed the country into poverty. Its flourishing economy began to disintegrate after a program of land seizures from white farmers, and agricultural output plummeted and inflation soared.
Like his wife — who is dubbed “Gucci Grace” for her extravagant shopping sprees — Mugabe is criticized for his lavish lifestyle. Last year, he held an birthday party that reportedly cost $800,000 in a region hit by food shortages and drought.
CNN’s David McKenzie and Brent Swails reported from Harare. Angela Dewan wrote from London and Jamie Tarabay wrote from Hong Kong. CNN’s Paul Murphy and Emily Smith contributed to this report.
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