Mugabe breaks down in tears

Deposed dictator Robert Mugabe broke down in tears and asked for his dead wife and son before meeting army chiefs on Sunday after being ousted as leader of Zanu-PF party, one of his aides has told MailOnline.

The frail 93-year-old has until noon local time on Monday to resign as President or impeachment proceedings will start, Zanu-PF said.

Mugabe was replaced by the vice- president he previously sacked, Emmerson "Crocodile" Mnangagwa, on Sunday after all ten Zimbabwean provinces passed no-confidence motions against the dictator two days earlier.

Although Mugabe technically remains President, the fact that he no longer leads his party means that the end is almost certainly in sight for his 37-year reign.

Ahead of his meeting with army officials to discuss his exit, Mugabe was "wailing profusely" and saying that he wished he could speak to his dead wife, Sally Mugabe, and his late son, Michael Nhamodzenyika, who died from cerebral malaria in 1966 at the age of three.

"He spends most of his time looking at an old photograph of Sally. It is terrible," the aide said of Mugabe's first wife, who died of kidney failure in 1992.

In 1996, Mugabe went on to marry his current wife, "Gucci" Grace, who was expelled on Sunday from her role as head of the Zanu-PF Women's League "forever".

The frail dictator has been staging a hunger strike over his confinement in house arrest and is refusing to take regular baths or speak, the aide added.

The only person who has managed to get through to him is the Catholic cleric Father Fidelis Mukonori, who is mediating between Mugabe and the generals, the aide added.

There is widespread speculation that Mugabe will officially resign late on Sunday after a crunch meeting with the head of Zimbabwe's armed forces.

He has so far given little sign of capitulating, however, instead resisting the massive pressure from all sides by staging a hunger strike, making threats and refusing to speak at his Blue Roof home.

Mnangagwa within touching distance of the presidency, is only being delayed by Mugabe's continued refusal to step down.
If he resigns, Mugabe could live as an "elder statesman" in Zimbabwe, or travel to a country where he has property, including South Africa, Dubai or Singapore.

While Mugabe has been removed from his role of Zanu-PF party leader, his title as Zimbabwean President remains.

Impeaching the President is the next step when Parliament resumes Tuesday, and lawmakers will "definitely" put the process in motion, the main opposition's parliamentary chief whip told The Associated Press. Mnangagwa, the former state security chief, is in line to head an interim post-Mugabe unity government that will focus on rebuilding ties with the outside world and stabilising an economy in free fall.

News of Mugabe's removal comes as MailOnline exclusively revealed that the elderly dictator had gone on hunger strike. One of his close family members confirmed that he was refusing to eat as a strategic ploy.

The frail Mugabe has not accepted any food since Saturday, the source revealed, as he continues to be held under house arrest at his Blue Roof mansion.

Mugabe's nephew Patrick Zhuwao said on Saturday that Mugabe was "willing to die for what is correct".

A Zanu-PF minister confirmed to MailOnline that Mugabe is also refusing to speak as part of his days-long protest.

"The old man has been trying various tricks since last night," the minister, who asked not to be named, said. "Hunger strikes, making threats and refusing to talk."

Mugabe on Sunday met to discuss his exit with army commander Constantino Chiwenga, who put him under house arrest.