Zim power handover deal struck
EMMERSON Mnangagwa is poised to take over as the interim president of Zimbabwe following a deal that will see President Robert Mugabe handing over power and a transitional government that includes the opposition taking control until elections are held.
According to reports of Zimbabwe’s Financial Gazetter, Mnangagwa is expected to form a transitional government that would rule for five years, after which the country would hold elections.
His mandate, according to the military plan, would include restoring the rule of law and stabilising the economy.
Zimbabwe intelligence reports suggest that former security chief Mnangagwa, who was sacked by Mugabe last week, together with the military has had plans for a post-Mugabe government for more than a year.
Speculation that this plan is already under way has been fuelled by opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai’s return to the capital, Harare.
Tsvangirai had been receiving cancer treatment in Britain and South Africa.
This breaking news follows earlier reports that despite the mediation of a Catholic priest to allow 93 year-old Mugabe to exit gracefully, he was insisting he remain as the country’s only legitimate leader, according to an intelligence source.
The priest, Fidelis Mukonori, was acting as a middleman between Mugabe and the generals, who seized power on Wednesday in what they described as a targeted operation against “criminals” in Mugabe’s entourage.
However, the source would or could not provide details about the sensitive discussions which were attempting to secure a smooth and violence-free transition to a new government once Mugabe is gone.
Meanwhile, President Jacob Zuma has refused to speculate on the future, saying he would get a full report at the regional meeting in Botswana today.
Zuma told the National Council of Provinces, during question time yesterday, they should adopt a wait-and-see attitude on Zimbabwe. Zuma, who is attending the Southern African Development Community (SADC) summit, said the situation would become clear soon.
Communications Minister Mmamoloko Kubayi-Ngubane said Zuma sent Defence Minister Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nqakula and State Security Minister Bongani Bongo to mediate in the country.
Constantino Chiwenga, the commander of the Zimbabwe Defence Forces (ZDF), and the one believed to be the architect behind the military takeover, had made several demands of Mugabe, which Mugabe had hitherto refused to agree to, prior to his subsequent change of mind.
Mugabe had also demanded that all his missing wife’s allies be accounted for after many of the ministers were arrested in the wake of what is now being widely acknowledged as a coup.
The whereabouts of the politically-ambitious Grace Mugabe remain unknown, but speculation has arisen that she may have fled to Namibia.
There were fears earlier that this impasse could have pushed the army into declaring a state of emergency, forcing the generals into an unenviable position that could have been interpreted as declaring martial law, finally undermining their claim that no coup had taken place while opening the way for possible international military intervention.
THE WHEREABOUTS OF THE POLITICALLY AMBITIOUS GRACE MUGABE REMAIN UNKNOWN