Mugabe makes 1st public appearance amid talks on departure

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The military statement reported by the state-run Herald newspaper and Zimbabwe Broadcasting Corporation said military leaders are "engaging with the Commander-in-Chief President Robert Mugabe on the way forward and will advise the nation of the outcome as soon as possible."

"Significant progress has been made in their operation to weed out criminals around President Mugabe," the statement said, adding that the military had arrested some while others remained at large. Those sought had been "committing crimes that were causing social and economic suffering in Zimbabwe."

The military is seeking Cabinet ministers and other top officials who had been associates of first lady Grace Mugabe, part of a clique dubbed the G40 because many were in their 40s and 50s. They are of a different generation from the one that fought for independence from white minority rule.

Grace Mugabe's rapid political rise had alarmed many who feared she could succeed her husband after he fired his longtime deputy, Emmerson Mnangagwa, last week. That firing set off the military's moves, and Mnangagwa is expected to lead any new government.

There was no sign of the first lady at Friday's graduation ceremony.

Army troops and armored vehicles continued to patrol the capital, Harare, as Zimbabweans went about their daily business. Residents said they had feared at first when the military moved in but praised the current calm.

Headlines in some local newspapers declared the Mugabe era over. "Dawn of a new era," one said. "Mugabe remembered for brutal 37-year rule," said another.