OHANNESBURG – The African Union Commission has welcomed Robert Mugabe’s decision to resign as Zimbabwe’s leader while acknowledging him as a “fearless liberation fighter”.

Chairperson of the Commission Moussa Faki Mahamat says Mugabe will be remembered as a fearless Pan-Africanist who had dedicated a lifetime of service to Zimbabwe as the father of the nation’s independence.

He says the AU recognises that the Zimbabwean people have expressed their will that there should be a peaceful transfer of power in a manner that secures the democratic future of their country.

Meanwhile, thousands of citizens have lined the streets outside Zanu-PF’s headquarters in Harare, holding flags, toy crocodiles and placards, waiting for interim leader Emmerson Mnangagwa to address them.

The Zimbabwean Youth Council’s Acie Lumumba says they’re done talking about Mugabe.

“The only thing that’s fair to talk about is the people of Zimbabwe. We spent 37years talking about one man, I refuse to utter that word.”