Mugabe gave a final blow to opposition

The bright future for hapless Zimbabwe is as yet far from assured, writes

Balt Verhagen

The public jubilation at Robert Mugabe vacating the presidency was, as one commentator claimed “put on steroids” when the speaker of the joint houses of the Zimbabwean parliament read his brief resignation.

Delirious was the word used by Cathy Buckle, a decades-long commentator on the gradual decline of her country, herself having been expelled from her farm.

Mugabe’s bombshell came at the moment the joint houses were starting impeachment proceedings against the president who had been put under house arrest a week before and refused to leave.

The impeachment process caused the ruling Zanu-PF party some headaches. It required a two-thirds majority to carry it and there was considerable uncertainty whether this could be attained. The ruling party is riven by factions and it was far from certain that in spite of its large majority in parliament, it could be attained unaided.

With the president’s bombshell, impeachment proceedings were abruptly ended and renewed jubilation broke out on the streets.

The irony is that, with the cancelling of impeachment, the need for opposition support fell away and, knowing the quality of the ruling party, any assurances about fair elections.

Rather than a cause for jubilation it can also be seen as Mugabe’s final blow to the opposition getting a foot into the door of democratic governance in Zimbabwe. The bright future for that hapless country is as yet far from assured.