Zimbabwe's Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) Morgan Tsvangirai and war veterans leader Christopher Mutsvangwa reportedly flew back home from South Africa on Wednesday.

According to the privately-owned NewsDay newspaper, this came as reports indicated that both Tsvangirai and Mutsvangwa were "ready to enter negotiations to form a transitional government with former vice president Emmerson Mnangagwa".

Tsvangirai and Mutsvangwa had both been in South Africa on different missions, the report said.

The Zimbabwe Defence Forces (ZDF) on Wednesday announced that it had taken over the country and was keeping the country's president Robert Mugabe and his family under guard at his home as the military was getting rid of the "criminals around Mugabe".

On Monday the ZDF warned the 93-year-old leader that it would intervene if he continued purging party veterans in a bid to see his wife, Grace Mugabe, become his successor.

'Bumpy process'

The takeover, which has largely been described as a coup, also saw the arrest of several ministers and members of the so-called "Generation 40" group within the ruling party.

The faction is believed to have been working to ensure Mugabe's recently fired vice president Emmerson Mnangagwa would never ascended to the presidency.

The move by the military was welcomed by many, including Mugabe’s critic Sten Zvorwadza, who however, said that a civilian interim government should be installed soon.

In an interview with News24, the National Vendors' Union of Zimbabwe chairperson said that he was "excited" over the recent developments in the country.

"What the military has done is the right thing. I can joyfully say that there is no coup in Zimbabwe. The military has exercised its constitutional mandate of mitigating a situation that would have led into a bloodbath," said Zvorwadza.

Zvorwadza called on fellow citizens to rally behind the current developments as the situation with President Mugabe’s party would have led into a "bumpy process going forward".