SA, AU must help:
FOR 37 years, Robert Gabriel Mugabe ruled Zimbabwe with an iron hand, ruthlessly beating off all challengers, weathering all storms – but taking the country into uncharted, difficult waters.
But now it seems as if a coup will bring an end to his rule – and destroy the political ambitions of his wife, Grace. Things were so different on April 17, 1980. On the morning of that day, Zimbabwe Broadcasting Corporation newsreader Mandy Mundawarara announced: “Zimbabwe will become a new state from midnight tonight. Among the ceremonies to mark the occasion will be… the swearing in of president-elect Mr Banana and prime minister-elect Mr Mugabe.”
Mugabe’s Zanu-PF had won in a landslide, polling more than 90% of the vote.
White Rhodesians reacted with shock, with John Meiring – a member of the Psychological Operations Unit of the government of Ian Smith (the last white leader of the country) – declaring “his ass fell on the ground that could be heard with a thud around the room”.
In the beginning, Mugabe made all the right noises. But political difficulties and natural disasters swept the country into difficulties from which they could not extricate themselves.
Mugabe’s response was ever-growing paranoia. Political enemies were sidelined and popular opposition was ruthlessly crushed.
And as the Zimbabwe economy lurched from crisis to crisis – squeezed by western countries, including the UK, its former colonial power, Mugabe opted for populist policies. He ordered the seizure of most whiteowned farms, passing these on, in many cases, to cronies in his governing party.
The Zimbabwean dollar collapsed, and thousands of Zimbabwean citizens crossed the border into South Africa to escape starvation. torture and imprisonment. Now, it appears that the military has taken control of this sad country.
It has declared Mugabe safe, but warned ominously that it was targeting people close to the president.
It made this move shortly after Mugabe sacked Deputy President Emmerson Mnangagwa.
Instability in a neighbouring country holds grave implications for South Africa. More than a million Zimbabweans are believed to be living in exile in South Africa. We cannot afford another influx of refugees.
Our call therefore is for the South African government and the AU to act decisively to help find a peaceful solution to the crisis.
We believe the solution should be one in which the people of Zimbabwe play a decisive role in who governs them – and how.