Weekend Argus (Saturday Edition)
SA keeps door open for Bob
Plans to recall, impeach Zimbabwe’s veteran leader
AS PRESSURE mounts for President Robert Mugabe to relinquish power, South Africa is ready to give him possible sanctuary in the country. But Pretoria has to deal with the diplomatic quandary around his wife Grace’s pending criminal case.
The increasingly desperate Zimbabwe military was yesterday forced to launch a multipronged approach to force Mugabe to step down. This was after the veteran leader proved intractable and shot down a proposed exit deal following marathon negotiations at State House on Thursday.
With Zimbabwe’s army commander General Constantino Chiwenga losing the negotiations, his disappointed backers, who include liberation war veterans and political parties, yesterday jumped to Plan B, an approach that involves Zanu-PF provinces dumping their elderly party leader and a nationwide mass #MugabeMustGo march to State House.
By yesterday evening, all 10 Zanu-PF provinces had passed a vote of no confidence in Mugabe and “declared the 93-year-old leader too old and incapacitated to lead both Zanu-PF and government”.
Once he is officially fired as Zanu-PF leader, sources behind this approach said they would push for Mugabe to be impeached early next week.
“The army are fast running out of patience because they realise that constitutionally, they cannot remove the old man ( Mugabe) without turning the country into a pariah state.
“They have opted to use legal means to get rid of him,” said a senior civil servant who wished not to be named.
However, it is a major shift from the approach that has centred on keeping the general populace away from attempts to end Mugabe’s 37-year reign in the hope he would voluntarily step down.
Well- placed sources in South Africa’s security cluster said the situation was fluid and Pretoria had opened its doors.
“But there’s a complication with Grace, as you know,” said a source.
This complication is an assault charge relating to when the first lady allegedly attacked 20-year-old model Gabriella Engels with an extension cord at a Sandton hotel in September.
The source said should Mugabe and his family be granted polit- ical exile, they would be given a residence by the government for security reasons. This would mean they would not be allowed to stay in any of the mansions that the family owned in Gauteng.
“We normally recommend Pretoria due to the established diplomatic security environment there,” the source said.
But civil rights organisation AfriForum, acting on behalf of Engels, has vowed to prosecute the first lady if she returns to South Africa. AfriForum chief executive Kallie Kriel said the body was in the process of having Grace’s diplomatic immunity revoked through the courts.
“Once that has been set aside we will approach the National Prosecuting Authority and if that doesnt work we will prosecute her privately,” Kriel said.
The DA and Cope were also opposed yesterday to the country offering Mugabe and his family sanctuary.
The source was at pains to stress the situation was delicate as Zimbabwe could face AU sanctions if Mugabe was ousted by a military coup.
“The situation remains uncertain and Zimbabwe risks AU sanctions, something we must avoid as SA due to economic pressure we may get,” the source said, referring to the possibility of a refugee crisis sparked by a violent takeover in Harare.
“We recognise the Zimbabwe government; we can’t now change, plus there is international law at play, including AU protocol against coups.
“Mugabe is resisting a coup. If the army unseats an elected head of state we will have issues. (President Jacob) Zuma is being tested here; the question is will he act like (Thabo) Mbeki or will he seize the opportunity to restore stability.”
Former president Mbeki became infamous for his silent diplomacy on Zimbabwe, which was based on behind- the- scenes negotiations, as opposed to hardline measures against Mugabe’s repressive regime, which plunged that country’s economy into years of hyperinflation.
As Zimbabwe remained on a knife-edge yesterday Zuma met his Botswana counterpart, Ian Khama, to discuss the crisis.
However, brokering a truce might prove difficult.
This was due to the complexity of Zimbabwe’s factional political situation around the governing party Zanu-PF.
Meanwhile an unprecedented war veterans’ mass march was scheduled to start this morning at Harare’s Freedom Square and end at the State House, taking the fight to the once-feared Mugabe’s doorstep.
Buses were organised to bring thousands of protesters to the march and yesterday posters circulated on social media under the banner “Arise Zimbabwe Arise”.
In press briefings yesterday, Zimbabwe National Liberation War Veterans’ Association chairperson Christopher Mutsvangwa, a close ally of ousted vice-president Emmerson Mnangagwa, said they would “settle the scores tomorrow (today)” if Mugabe does not accept the exit deal.
Ironically, the plan was unfolding as a weary-looking Mugabe made his first appearance since his house arrest at a graduation ceremony at the Zimbabwe Open University.