Jacob Zuma says Zimbabwe president is under house arrest

South African President Jacob Zuma discloses that embattled Zimbabwe President Robert Mugabe is under house arrest.

“President Zuma spoke to President Robert Mugabe earlier today who indicated that he was confined to his home but said that he was fine,” the South African government said in a statement.

The military took over affairs in Zimbabwe on Wednesday, arresting persons in Mugabe’s cabinet and taking control of State owned media.

The army has denied that it has staged a coup as uncertainty persists in the Southern African nation.

ALSO READ: Don't be fooled, what is happening in Mugabe's Zimbabwe is called a coup

Army Chief Gen Chiwenga says the institution is only purging corrupt party members from Mugabe’s government.

93-year-old Mugabe has maintained a stranglehold on Zimbabwe since 1980.

The latest Zimbabwe crisis stem from a succession battle in which Grace Mugabe is angling to succeed her husband after instigating the firing of Vice President Emmerson Mnangagwa.

Alex Magaisa, a former adviser to Zimbabwean opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai told the BBC that the army “has decided not to call it a coup because a coup does not sell, it will be condemned.

“But as far as authority is concerned, it seems very clear that President Mugabe is now just a president in name and authority is now residing in the military".

AFP quotes Zuma as saying that South Africa has resolved to send special envoys to Zimbabwe over the political crisis.