Military could give Zimbabwe a real shot at democracy

The gloom in Zimbabwe is spreading as the country slides deeper into political and economic chaos. News that the military has eased out veteran President Robert Mugabe to take over the reins of power and control the streets came as a shock on Wednesday. What the army will do next remains anybody’s guess. Mugabe ruled the country with guile for four decades and the results have been disappointing for a majority of the population still steeped in poverty. Power was centred in the presidency and cronyism and corruption was rife. The opposition was swept aside and foes went missing. Far from being a statesman, Robert Mugabe was a strongman who merely used elections as a ruse to cling to power. He was corrupted by it, and at 93 finds himself a victim of his excesses. Egged on by his wife, who harbours dreams of taking over after him, Mugabe even sidelined most of his political allies. One after the other figures of the liberation struggle have been thrown out of the party with speed and ruthlessness. Earlier this month, vice-president and presumed successor Emmerson Mnangagwa was sacked. In October Mugabe replaced his pragmatic finance minister Patrick Chinamasa with a loyalist.

In his tryst with power which captivated him, scarce little was done for the masses. The country’s economy is in a shambles with high rates of joblessness and inflation. Zimbabwe doesn’t even have an functioning currency in circulation. The ruling party’s tentacles are spread in every sector. Nothing was left untouched as sycophancy was the mode of governance. Now that the military is in charge, there is a growing fear about the future of the country. How worse can it get? Will the army uphold democratic norms and hold free and fair elections? There were rumours that the president wanted to keep it in the family and his spouse Grace was set to replace him. That is unlikely to happen as the Mugabes are under house arrest. The country is rich in resources, has a literate population, and a strong diaspora in the UK and South Africa who want to return to rebuild it. Democracy without the Mugabes would be in Zimbabwe’s interests. All eyes are now on the military.