In their thousands, they dance, sang and drank to the demise of Mugabe
UNDER grey skies and after a night of hot summer rain, thousands of Zimbabweans staged euphoric demonstrations all over the city of Harare and in other towns yesterday, as they called on President Robert Mugabe to step down. Revellers sang, shouted, stamped and drank across the city in open defiance of their ailing 93-yearold leader after he was dramatically placed under house arrest following a military coup this week.
Never before, not even when Mr Mugabe returned from exile in late 1979, has there been such public jubilation in Zimbabwe. By lunchtime, every street in central Harare played host to its own spontaneous celebration. Zimbabweans, both white and black, hugged, kissed and cheered.
But most of all, they danced. One man leapt out of his car and danced in front of it for several minutes as his empty vehicle cruised down the street. Another stripped to his underwear and danced on his car roof.
Others danced on the roofs of buses. Drivers tooted their horns and flashed their headlights frantically, gunning their engines as exhaust fumes rose above the crowds. Such euphoric demonstrations would have been unthinkable before this week’s unprecedented series of events, as the military would have taken to the streets with tear gas and batons at the first sign of protest.
Instead, in extraordinary scenes on the streets of the capital, soldiers wearing the distinctive yellow berets of Mr Mugabe’s personal guard bumped their fists with protesters and even posed for photographs.
A few soldiers even waved national Zimbabwean flags handed out by protesters. “I don’t know what to say, ex- cept, thank you, thank you Zimbabwe Defence Forces,” said Tawanda Mawire, 29. “The 18th November is now our independence day.”
“It is such fun,” said a woman who was previously an organiser for the opposition Movement for Democratic Change, MDC. “There is no tear gas, no police, people are all friendly and we don’t care any more about the police and the CIO (Central Intelligence Organisation).”
Jeremy Jones, a white former farmer who was evicted during the land grab in 2000, said: “I walked all the way from Borrowdale (about six miles) into town to be with the people and to thank General Chiwenga for what he has done for us today.”
“It’s like a relief,” said 37-year-old Talent Mudzamiri. “Our voices have not been heard for a long time. The trend in Africa, when the people speak, they are not heard... The common enemy is Robert Mugabe. That’s for starters.” Mr Mudzamiri went on to suggest that the people of Zimbabwe, emboldened by Mr Mugabe’s seemingly imminent departure, were “going to come out again” if their next leader proved just as troublesome.
Several evicted white farmers, made homeless during the post-2000 land grab, wrapped themselves in the Zimbabwe flag and sang along with the people in a city dominated by the opposition Movement for Democratic Change, MDC. Among them was Ben Freeth, a British farmer who was awarded an MBE in 2010 for his human rights activism in Zimbabwe.
“This is an amazing opportunity. Let’s join hands in solidarity, all together with fellow Zimbabweans of all colours and political persuasions and march for freedom. We owe it to the future,” he said. Senior Zimbabwean sources told Reuters that Zimbabwe’s ruling Zanu-PF party would file an urgent application for Mr Mugabe’s dismissal today. Emmerson Mnangagwa, whose sacking as vice president last week sparked the military intervention, would seek reinstatement on the same day, they said. Mr Mnangagwa’s plan to stablise the country would involve the creation of a government of national unity, they added.
Patrick Chinamasa, the reformist finance minister who was sacked from his post by Mr Mugabe last month, said that the central committee meeting today would be an “important” moment. “That is where we will make decisions. Be there tomorrow. Speculate as you like about what will happen in the future but this is an important step. Tomorrow. See you there,” he told The Sunday Telegraph.
It is understood that Mr Mugabe last night remained under house arrest in the lavish Blue Roof compound in Harare. However, even as the demonstrators marched towards the compound, Mr Mugabe’s supporters vowed that he would go on. His nephew, Patrick Zhuwao, said the elderly leader and his wife, Grace Mugabe, were “ready to die for what is correct” and had no intention of stepping down.
However, those bellicose words of warning did little to dampen the spirits of those marching in the streets. “The jewel, our jewel is ready to shine,” said Chad Gandiya, Bishop of the Anglican Diocese of Harare of the Church of the Province of Central Africa. “There is hope in the air. As a church we hope all will be peaceful and that people will desist from any violent action.
“This is our Kairos moment. Let us grab this God-given moment.”