South Africa's ruling party decided to sack Jacob Zuma as the country's president, a senior official says, after a marathon meeting over the fate of a leader whose scandal-plagued years in power darkened and divided Nelson Mandela's post-apartheid 'Rainbow Nation'.

President Robert Mugabe is under house arrest in Zimbabwe, South African President Jacob Zuma said in a statement today after the Zimbabwean military appeared to have taken control of the country, AFP reports.