A week after Mnangagwa was fired and forced to flee the country, and a day before troops moved into Harare, army chief Constantino Chiwenga issued a statement that purges of senior ZANU-PF officials like Mnangagwa had to stop. On November 21, 2017, Mugabe resigned as president. Emmerson Mnangagwa became the President of Zimbabwe on November 24, 2017.