Cogito Ergo Non Serviam
Army Takes over Zimbabwe in "Non-Coup"
This journal has disliked Robert Mugabe for decades. While he may have led his country to black majority rule, he certain has not led it to freedom nor to prosperity. For 37 years, he has been an embarrassment to decent government, has plundered the nation for himself and his hangers-on, and has certainly outlived any good he might have done. The fact that the army has now stepped in is probably the least bad option. Military men taking over a government is never desirable, but this case makes it easier to defend.
Mr. Mugabe’s Zanu-PF Party has run Zimbabwe since it stopped being Rhodesia in 1980. Mr. Mugabe is now 93 years old, so some kind of succession arrangement is necessary. The two rivals of late have been former Vice-President Emmerson Mnangagwa, who was removed from office not long ago, and Grace Mugabe, the shopoholic wife of Mr. Mugabe, who happens to be about 40 years younger than her husband and who is known as “Gucci Grace.”
“Zanu-PF ’s UK representative, Nick Mangwana, has suggested to the BBC that Mr Mugabe could remain nominally in power until the party congress in December, when Mr Mnangagwa would be formally installed as party and national leader.
“Reuters news agency is quoting a source as saying Mr Mugabe’s wife Grace is in Mr Mugabe’s compound, along with senior figures from the ‘Generation-40’ group supportive of the first lady - cabinet ministers Jonathan Moyo and Saviour Kasukuwere.”
So, it appears the generals saw that Mrs. Mugabe was the future, decided they didn’t want that, and stepped in to give Mr. Mnangagwa a leg up.
The problem, of course, is that this is a military coup whether the army admits it or not. And African history to one side, coups are not the done thing. The Southern Africa Development Community, which represents 16 nations in southern Africa including Zimbabwe, is holding an emergency meeting in neighboring Botswana to help resolve the situation and return the nation to democracy (not that there really was democracy under Zanu-PF). Sadc has a policy of not recognizing military governments as that would set a bad precedent.
Meanwhile, opposition Leader Morgan Tsvangirai is out of the country for cancer treatment, said, “In the interests of the people, Mr Robert Mugabe must resign... immediately.” He further demanded a "negotiated all-inclusive transitional mechanism" to achieve "comprehensive reforms for free and fair elections to be held.”
Another Zimbabwean opposition leader, Tendai Biti, told the BBC, "It is urgent that we go back to democracy... that we go back to legitimacy but we need a transitional period and I think, I hope, that dialogue can now be opened between the army and Zimbabweans."
This journal believes that the solution that is most likely is that Mr. Mugabe will retire at the December Congress or take on a head of state role while Mr. Mnangagwa runs things. Mrs. Mugabe will probably finish out her days in exile after her husband shakes off this mortal coil.
All of this just goes to show that bad government can impoverish a nation, and Mr. Mugabe has governed badly. That there was no way for him to be removed (elections in Zimbabwe have been stolen) only makes his crimes against his own people worse. Zimbabweans deserved better, and once the army returns to barracks, it looks like they will get more of the same regardless who succeeds him.
© Copyright 2017 by The Kensington Review, Jeff Myhre, PhD, Editor. No part of this publication may be reproduced without written consent. Produced using Ubuntu Linux.
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