The Zimbabwean military holds the mother of all palace coups

The way in which Robert Mugabe was taken out of power will go down in history books.

Maj Gen Sibusiso Moyo was one of the key figures in the military who orchestrated the resignation of Mugabe  (Meets Media )

At first, it seemed as if the Zimbabwean military didn't have the guts to get Robert Mugabe out of it.

During the political impasse in the southern African country, it seemed that the old dictator was going to pull a fast one on his country people by staying in power.

On Tuesday, November 21, 2017, Robert Mugabe resigned after 37 years in power. His country people duly celebrated the ousting of a dictator.

Robert Mugabe's resignation means he is no longer the oldest serving head of state in the world  (AFP/File)

Props have to be given to the military in Zimbabwe. Getting Mugabe out of power was so clinically done that it was never called a coup. The soldiers understood if they had gotten rid of the old man with guns blazing, the world would have turned its back on them.

On November 14, tanks and Army soldiers were seen on the roads in the countryside on the way to Harare, Zimbabwe's capital. Soldiers stood beside military vehicles just outside the capital city  (Reuters)

What they did was a palace coup of all palace coups, one that would go down in history as a perfectly executed masterstroke.

African dictators don't go down without a fight. There's usually bloodshed and months of fighting, even years before an African dictator scrambles out of his country when he has lost the battle.

Celebrations erupted in Harare after the resignation of Zimbabwe's autocratic leader, Robert Mugabe  (AFP)

None of this happened in Zimbabwe. There was no bloodshed, fighting and a civil war.  Once again props to Zimbabwean soldiers who went outside of the box to do what needed to be done.