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 crack

Rev 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. The strategy was to listen to Mugabe, not debate him

The negotiators allowed Mugabe do most of the talking.

"He is a debater, he is a thinker, he argues intelligently, he can philosophize," Mukonori says. "It was a question of making President Mugabe see what was happening in the country economically and politically at that time and what was at stake with regard to issues pertaining to the soldiers moving in."

3. 60,000 protesting on the streets moved Mugabe

As thousands of Zimbabweans emptied into the streets, Mugabe knew his time as president was finally over.

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"The protesting crowd moved him”, Mukonori says. “It moved him in the sense that he realised that they are speaking to say this is enough."

4. Soldiers treated Mugabe with respect all through

"The Generals always treated him with respect during the discussions, they even saluted him," Mukonori says. "He knew he would love to leave with dignity."

5. The amount of soldiers stationed outside government buildings during takeover worried Mugabe

"The fact that the soldiers had taken that step -- Mugabe didn't disagree that there were issues but he wondered why it had to be done that way," Mukonori told CNN.

Mugabe has since been replaced with Emmerson Mnangagwa.