A priest who was right in the room, tells story of how Mugabe was persuaded to relinquish his hold on power. Reverend Fidelis Mukonori was in the room with military chiefs and Robert Mugabe, as negotiations tailored toward asking the Zimbabwe president to resign after 37 years on the throne, progressed. The talks began from November 15 when Mugabe was placed under house arrest by soldiers; culminating in Mugabe accepting to step down on November 21. Here are five things Rev Mukonori said about those six days of intense negotiation with Mugabe. The 73-year-old Jesuit priest spoke to CNN. 1. Rev says he’s a tough nut to crackRev Mukonori collected evidence of atrocities during Zimbabwe’s brutal civil war that preceded Mugabe’s reign. He was a young priest at the time. Years later, he would become part of the team charged with persuading Mugabe to loosen his hold on power. “I’m a tough nut to crack. I’ve done this before,” Mukonori says.2.
