Zimbabwe, regional leaders work on terms of leader’s exit
HARARE, Zimbabwe — In the first round of negotiations over how President Robert Mugabe will leave power, the Zimbabwean leader met Thursday with the army commander who put him under house arrest and with mediators, including South African Cabinet ministers and a Catholic priest.
Meanwhile, the 16-nation Southern African Development Community called an emergency summit and was expected to formalize the terms of Mugabe’s exit.
The summit puts regional leaders who have worked with the 93-yearold Mugabe for decades into the difficult position of either supporting what appears to be a coup or keeping the unpopular president in office.
In the first images of Mugabe after the military moved in this week, Zimbabwe’s state-run Herald newspaper published photos of him smiling and shaking hands with army commander Constantino Chiwenga. The photos showed South African Cabinet ministers and a Catholic priest whom Mugabe has used as a mediator.
First lady Grace Mugabe was not pictured, however, amid speculation over the future of a woman whose rapid political rise had alarmed many who feared she could succeed her husband after he fired his longtime deputy last week.
“This is political theater. Chiwenga and the army want to give Mugabe a soft landing, a dignified exit,” said Piers Pigou, southern Africa expert for the International Crisis Group.
“They are working on the choreography of how this will be done. By calling a full summit, (the regional leaders) are showing respect for Mugabe, the last of the liberation war heroes,” Pigou said. “Mugabe wants the full fanfare as he exits stage left. The regional leaders will be showing deference to Mugabe, even though they can’t wait to see the back of him.”
As Zimbabweans waited for details of a deal, South African President Jacob Zuma told parliament Zimbabwe’s political situation “very shortly will be becoming clear.”
Zimbawean opposition leaders and civil society groups urged Mugabe to step aside after 37 years in power and for the country to have a transition period leading to free and fair elections.
Mugabe has been in military custody, reportedly with his wife, since the army seized control of the capital Tuesday.
There has been no sign of former Vice President Emmerson Mnangagwa, whose firing last week angered supporters in the military amid concern that Grace Mugabe would replace him at a party meeting next month. Saying he’d received threats, Mnangagwa fled Zimbabwe..
Knox Chitiyo, an analyst with the Chatham House think tank, said he believed the negotiations “have pretty much reached an end point” to get Mugabe to step aside and that it was a “matter of hours or days.”
He said the aim was a peaceful, managed transition and a dignified exit for Mugabe, who has ruled since independence from white minority rule in 1980 and remains widely known, even praised, in Africa as a liberation leader.
Chitiyo said he doesn’t know where the ailing Mugabe would go but that the destination is “likely driven by his health.” Mugabe frequently seeks medical treatment in Singapore.
Meanwile, opposition leaders added their voices to those calling for Mugabe to step down.
Morgan Tsvangirai, who shared power with Mugabe between 2009 and 2013, said Mugabe must resign, adding that his party would participate in talks on a transitional mechanism if approached.
A former vice president who was fired in 2014, Joice Mujuru, called for “free, fair and credible elections” following a transition arrangement that draws from a range of communities.
Across the country, Zimbabweans long frustrated by crackdowns on dissent and a collapsing economy were enjoying freedoms they hadn’t had in years. Soldiers manning checkpoints greeted motorists with smiles, searching cars without hostilities and wishing motorists a safe journey.