Developments in the southern African country of Zimbabwe have indeed lent credence to the adage that “no condition is permanent.” While some have described the development in Zimbabwe as a subtle coup d’état, others believe the Zimbabwean Military High Command has staged a coup in an attempt to end an almost four decade regime of President Robert Gabriel Mugabe.
Prior to this rare coup, which happened on Wednesday, November 15, 2017, Zimbabwe’s Army Commander, General Constantino Chiwenga, had warned of the military intervening as a means of resolving the political wrangling that had hit the ruling ZANU-PF Party. So for many, it came as no surprise when the military intervened.
That apart, the Army Commander has come out to assure the Zimbabwean people that President Mugabe is hale and hearty. For many political watchers and security analysts, what has happened in Zimbabwe is a coup d’état. Pure and simple!
In fact, Weekend Today sees it as a means to depose and end the reign of Zimbabwe’s longest serving president. We are told also that his wife, Grace Mugabe, is in exile in Namibia. Well, the development has seen Amnesty International issue a statement calling on the Zimbabwean Army to safeguard human rights.
This indeed is a call in the right direction as military coups in especially African countries have been characterised by unimaginable human rights abuses. For now, the good news in Zimbabwe is that there is relative peace and calm and Zimbabweans are going about their normal activities.
But the question on the minds of many is: why President Mugabe still wanted to hang on to power even when age was catching up on him? This clearly manifested itself when he fired his Vice President, Emmerson Mwuangagwa, accusing him of asking soothsayers about when he [Mugabe] was going to die and attempted to subtly impose his wife on the party with the aim of continuing with his reign.
In Weekend Today’s opinion, President Mugabe should have known better and bowed out of politics long time ago. That would have earned him the praise of his countrymen and women albeit there were some who had issues with his governance methods. While we are not in support of the military usurping a constitutionally elected president, we urge African presidents who are still hanging on to power to rethink their position. It is not something that does not bode well for democracy in Africa.
However, we call on the military in Zimbabwe to quickly resolve whatever issues there are and return the country to constitutional rule. Of course, they also hanging onto power for long could also be problematic.
It is therefore, our hope that the crisis in Zimbabwe would be resolved as quickly as possible to reduce the tension gradually building up in the country.
<<Print>>