African leaders wanted Mugabe gone, intelligence reports show
‘AN EMBARRASSMENT’ Southern African Development Community offered 93yearold Zimbabwe leader an African Union role to ease him out
African leaders were embarrassed by Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe and already encouraging him to step down before the army began moves last week to oust him, according to a secret Zimbabwean intelligence cable seen by Reuters.
The cable, dated October 23 and written by someone within the Central Intelligence Organisation (CIO) to an unknown recipient, also says Mugabe spoke to South African President Jacob Zuma about his rivalry with Emmerson Mnangagwa, the vice president whose sacking had prompted the army action.
The 93-year-old president stepped down on Tuesday.
The cable, one of a series seen by Reuters this year which give a detailed, insider’s view of Zimbabwean politics, described intelligence officials warning Mugabe he would face “fierce resistance from the military” if Mnangagwa was removed.
Seen by Reuters before the army intervened, it said that the 16-country Southern African Development Community (SADC) led by Zuma was pressuring Mugabe to resign and Zuma had suggested offering him a senior African Union role to ease him out.
Zuma’s spokesman, Bongani Ngqulunga, dismissed the account as “completely untrue and scandalous”.
Regional support allowed Mugabe to overcome an election setback in 2008 and could have held the key to his future as leader this time round.
SADC leaders met on Tuesday to discuss the crisis in Zimbabwe; Zuma and his Angolan counterpart, Joao Lourenco, were set to travel to Harare on Wednesday.
“All SADC leaders and African leaders want Mugabe to retire. Mugabe is seen as an embarrassment to the whole African continent,” the document said.
A Zambian source said Zuma, at the SADC meeting in Luanda, floated the idea of an AU position for Mugabe although the consensus was that he was too old.
Reuters was not able to verify the assertion of African opposition to Mugabe in the October 23 cable, which contrasts with his image as the respected “grand old man” of African politics.
Botswana President Ian Khama is the only African leader to have openly called for him to step down. Khama said Mugabe should go and allow for “an opportunity to put Zimbabwe on a path to peace and prosperity”.
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