The statement said that President Jacob Zuma in his capacity as chair of SADC “will attend the summit of the SADC Organ Troika Plus Chairperson of SADC which will take place in Luanda, Angola on Tuesday”.

The summit was expected to discuss the unfolding developments in Zimbabwe.

The meeting was set to go on after Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe stunned many on Sunday when he made no reference to his resignation in a speech aired on national television.

“The (ruling Zanu-PF) party congress is due in a few weeks and I will preside over its processes,” Mugabe said, pitching the country into further uncertainty.

Many Zimbabweans expected Mugabe to resign after the army seized power last week.

But Mugabe delivered his speech alongside the uniformed generals who were behind the military intervention.

In his address, Mugabe made no reference to the clamour for him to resign. Instead he paid tribute to three pillars of power in Zimbabwe – the military, the ruling party and the war veterans movement – and urged national solidarity. DM