Wild celebrations in Hillbrow following Mugabe ouster

Thousands of Zimbabweans in the downtown suburb of Hillbrow in Johannesburg, South Africa, have taken to the streets celebrating the stepping down of long-time ruler Robert Mugabe.

The Zimbabweans blocked part of Claim Street singing and dancing to the news that Mugabe has finally stepped down.  Some of them danced as they waved the Zimbabwean flag.

A member of the celebrating crowd, Lymon Ncube said he is relieved that Mugabe has been removed from power. "For many years we have lived outside our country as refugees, facing a lot of challenges and abuse. Now we can go back home and rebuild our lives in peace. We will celebrate for the rest of the night, if I fail to get to work tomorrow the bosses will have to understand, but if they fire me I don't care because a great future has opened for me and thousands of fellow Zimbabweans following the removal of the dictator."

Another, Sithembile Nyathi said the moment signals the beginning of a progressive Zimbabwe. "With Mugabe in power there was nothing you could do to survive in Zimbabwe, which is what drove all these people to South Africa. Now we can go back home and rebuild our lives."

The celebrating, punctuated by loud music, shouts of unbridled happiness and blowing of vuvuzelas, is at a tempo higher than that of the New Year, and seems endless, just as Ncube said.