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http://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-42130757
Mugabe will play elder statesman role in Zimbabwe, says mediator
Robert Mugabe will continue to have a role to play in Zimbabwean politics, the Jesuit priest who helped negotiate his resignation has told the BBC.
Father Fidelis Mukonori said he would provide "advice" as an elder statesman, including to the new president.
Mr Mugabe, 93, resigned on Tuesday after a military intervention and days of mass protests.
Mr Mukonori said he could not confirm reports that he was granted $10m (£7.5m) to ease him out of office.
Emmerson Mnangagwa was sworn in to replace Mr Mugabe as president on Friday.
Mr Mnangagwa, long a close ally of Mr Mugabe, was sacked earlier this month, triggering the political crisis that eventually saw his boss's downfall.
Father Mukonori, 70, who is close to Robert Mugabe and acted as a mediator between him and the military, said the new president would go to his predecessor for political counsel.
"In the African world, senior citizens are there for advice," he told the BBC's Richard Galpin at a church outside the capital, Harare, after leading a service that included prayers giving thanks for the peaceful transfer of power.
He referred to what Mr Mnangagwa said about his predecessor at his inauguration.
"When he says 'he's my father, he's my leader, he's my mentor', you tell me he's going to stay off from his father, from his mentor, from his leader? I don't think so."
The military takeover came in response to Mr Mugabe's decision to position Grace as his successor and sack Mr Mnangagwa from the vice-presidency.
Father Mukonori said he could not confirm reports that the ex-president was granted millions of dollars and promised that his assets would not be touched to persuade him to step down.
"We didn't offer him anything... He resigned for the good of Zimbabwe," he said.
He added: "What I have read in the newspapers is about immunity [from prosecution], and that he will be looked after like any other former head of state."
Mr Mugabe leaving power, he added, was the best thing he had ever done.
Separately on Sunday, Robert Mugabe was described as being "quite jovial" by a nephew in an interview with the French news agency AFP.
"He is actually looking forward to his new life - farming and staying at the rural home. He has taken it well," Leo Mugabe said.
He said that Grace wanted to focus on already announced plans to build the controversial $1bn Robert Mugabe University in Mazowe, near Harare.
But Father Mukonori said he believed the former spymaster knows that democracy is "crucial".
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Mugabe will play elder statesman role in Zimbabwe, says mediator
- 26 November 2017
- From the section Africa
Robert Mugabe will continue to have a role to play in Zimbabwean politics, the Jesuit priest who helped negotiate his resignation has told the BBC.
Father Fidelis Mukonori said he would provide "advice" as an elder statesman, including to the new president.
Mr Mugabe, 93, resigned on Tuesday after a military intervention and days of mass protests.
Mr Mukonori said he could not confirm reports that he was granted $10m (£7.5m) to ease him out of office.
Emmerson Mnangagwa was sworn in to replace Mr Mugabe as president on Friday.
Mr Mnangagwa, long a close ally of Mr Mugabe, was sacked earlier this month, triggering the political crisis that eventually saw his boss's downfall.
Father Mukonori, 70, who is close to Robert Mugabe and acted as a mediator between him and the military, said the new president would go to his predecessor for political counsel.
"In the African world, senior citizens are there for advice," he told the BBC's Richard Galpin at a church outside the capital, Harare, after leading a service that included prayers giving thanks for the peaceful transfer of power.
He referred to what Mr Mnangagwa said about his predecessor at his inauguration.
"When he says 'he's my father, he's my leader, he's my mentor', you tell me he's going to stay off from his father, from his mentor, from his leader? I don't think so."
- Will Mnangagwa be different from Mugabe?
- Mnangagwa: Profile of 'the crocodile'
- What's next for Zimbabwe?
The military takeover came in response to Mr Mugabe's decision to position Grace as his successor and sack Mr Mnangagwa from the vice-presidency.
Father Mukonori said he could not confirm reports that the ex-president was granted millions of dollars and promised that his assets would not be touched to persuade him to step down.
"We didn't offer him anything... He resigned for the good of Zimbabwe," he said.
He added: "What I have read in the newspapers is about immunity [from prosecution], and that he will be looked after like any other former head of state."
Mr Mugabe leaving power, he added, was the best thing he had ever done.
Separately on Sunday, Robert Mugabe was described as being "quite jovial" by a nephew in an interview with the French news agency AFP.
"He is actually looking forward to his new life - farming and staying at the rural home. He has taken it well," Leo Mugabe said.
He said that Grace wanted to focus on already announced plans to build the controversial $1bn Robert Mugabe University in Mazowe, near Harare.
- Archbishop ends 10-year Mugabe protest
- Zimbabwe leader to 're-engage' with world
- Ex-minister faces fraud charges
But Father Mukonori said he believed the former spymaster knows that democracy is "crucial".
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