What a turn of events that has been!
It's quite interesting, as people in the comments section have said, that no one stood up to him until today. It just goes to show how political interests shape and define the way a country is run.
What is very intriguing though is that the military has called this a peaceful intervention and they are promoting peace and stability in the region. An academic assumption, and affirmation, can be made for the militarisation of peace and how this could be applied in other areas of the world.
Democracy built on conflict is more often than not an unstable construct, which is why the current actions of the military seem to suggest a more positive outlook to the future of Zimbabwe, as they have not used force so far. Having real elections is only the first step towards democratisation of the country, but a big leap forwards compared to where it was so far.

What do other people think about this? I would love to go more in depth on my thoughts about this issue and its wider connotations.