‘ CHRISTMAS’ IN ZIMBABWE
Demonstrators in African nation rejoice, call for Mugabe to quit after military puts him under house arrest
HARARE, Zimbabwe — Giddy with joy and finally free to speak out, vast throngs of demonstrators turned Zimbabwe’s capital into a carnival ground on Saturday in a peaceful outpouring of disdain for President Robert Mugabe and calls for him to quit immediately. Still clinging to his nowpowerless post, the longtime leader was scheduled on Sunday to discuss his expected exit with the military command that put him under house arrest.
People in Harare clambered onto tanks and other military vehicles moving slowly through the crowds, danced around soldiers walking in city streets and surged in the thousands toward the building where Mugabe held official functions, a symbol of the rule of the 93- year- old man who took power after independence from white minority rule in 1980.
It was a historic day when the old Zimbabwe, a oncepromising African nation with a disintegrating economy and a mood of fear about the consequences of challenging Mugabe, became something new, with a population united, at least temporarily, in its fervor for change and a joyful openness that would have seemed fanciful even a few days ago.
The euphoria, however, will eventually subside, and much depends on the behind- thescenes maneuvering to get Mugabe to officially resign, jumpstart a new leadership that could seek to be inclusive and reduce perceptions that the military staged a coup against Mugabe. The president was to meet military commanders on Sunday in a second round of talks, state broadcaster ZBC reported.
“The common enemy is Robert Mugabe. That’s for starters,” said 37- year- old Talent Mudzamiri.
He had a warning for whoever takes over Zimbabwe: “If the next leader does the same, we are going to come out again.”
Many Zimbabweans believe the most likely candidate will be Emmerson Mnangagwa, a for- mer vice president with close military ties whose dismissal by Mugabe triggered the intervention of the armed forces, which sent troops and tanks into the streets this week, effectively taking over the country. The increasing presidential ambitions of Mugabe’s wife Grace, a polarizing figure who denounced Mnangagwa amid a factional battle within the ruling ZANU- PF party, alarmed those who feared a dynastic succession.
Even as concerns remained about who next would be in charge and what freedoms might be available if the military lingers in power — or if Mugabe’s recently fired deputy leads a new government — people reveled Saturday in the rare chance to express themselves freely.
In Harare, people ran through intersections, raising their arms in triumph. Young men shouted, laughed and embraced. Others danced on top of moving buses. One man stripped to his underwear and danced on a car roof.
“It’s like Christmas,” said one marcher, Fred Mubay, who said Zimbabweans have been suffering for a long time.