‘Smiling’ Mugabe refuses to step down
ZIMBABWEAN President Robert Mugabe refused to resign at a crunch meeting yesterday with military generals, who have seized control of the country, and South African envoys.
The talks in Harare came after tumultuous days in which soldiers blockaded key roads, took over state TV and put the veteran leader under house arrest.
“They met today. He is refusing to step down. I think he is trying to buy time,” a source close to the army leaders said.
Mugabe’s motorcade took him from his private residence to State House for the talks, which included envoys from the Southern African Development Community (SADC) regional bloc, including South Africa’s Defence Minister Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nqakula and State Security Minister Bongani Bongo.
A Catholic priest, Father Fidelis Mukonori, who has known Mugabe and his family since the 1970s, was also present.
Government TV showed a smiling Mugabe in a navy blue blazer and grey trousers standing alongside army chief General Constantino Chiwenga, who was dressed in camouflage military fatigues.
During the negotiations, there was an impasse as the army pressed for Mugabe to reinstate Emmerson Mnangagwa as vice-president.
Mugabe‚ a wily negotiator‚ had then demanded that the army should first acknowledge they were acting outside legal provisions‚ sources said.
The state-run Herald news site said talks were ongoing.
Zimbabwe was left stunned at the military intervention against Mugabe, 93, who has ruled the country since independence from Britain in 1980.
Despite Mugabe’s refusal to resign, attention has shifted to the prominent figures who could play a role in any transitional government.
Morgan Tsvangirai, a former prime minister and long-time opponent of Mugabe, told journalists in Harare that Mugabe must resign “in the interest of the people”.
He said a transitional mechanism would be needed to ensure stability.
Tendai Biti, an internationally respected figure who was finance minister during the coalition government after the 2008 elections, called it “a very delicate time for Zimbabwe”.
“A way has to be worked out to maintain stability.
“That restoration requires a roadmap and to address the grievances that have led to this situation,” he said.
Mugabe’s advanced age, poor health and listless public performances fuelled a bitter succession battle between his wife, Grace, and Mnangagwa, whom Mugabe sacked as vicepresident last week.
Mnangagwa, 75, fled to South Africa and published a scathing five-page rebuke of Mugabe’s leadership and Grace’s presidential ambitions.
Political analyst Earnest Mudzengi said: “People want the constitution to be upheld.
“The talks should look at how to deal with the issue in a progressive manner.”
Eldred Masunungure, a lecturer at the University of Zimbabwe, said the formation of a pre-election coalition could be a viable response to the crisis. The international community has been watching closely.
In Paris, the head of the African Union, Guinea’s President Alpha Conde, warned that the continent would never accept the military coup in Zimbabwe and called for a return to the constitutional order.
“[Problems] need to be resolved politically by Zanu-PF and not with an intervention by the army,” Conde said.
A meeting of the SADC in Botswana yesterday called for an emergency regional summit to help resolve the crisis.
The bloc urged Zimbabwe to “settle the political challenges through peaceful means”.
Britain demanded that elections scheduled for next year go ahead. – AFP, with additional reporting by TimesLIVE
‘ [Problems] need to be resolved politically by Zanu-PF and not an intervention by the army
IT is somewhat laughable that President Jacob Zuma is the point man on the Zimbabwe crisis when he needs the protection of a police battalion to go outside his house in his own country.
Zuma is seemingly the only person who was allowed a call with Zimbabwean leader Robert Mugabe as he sits holed up at State House in Harare, while the country remains under the control of the Zimbabwean Defence Force.
Zuma has also dispatched two special envoys to Harare, Defence Minister Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nqakula and rookie State Security Minister Bongani Bongo, who would struggle to negotiate a shopping trolley through a supermarket aisle let alone get army generals to roll back their power grab.
South Africa does not have the best track record when it comes to mediation efforts in Zimbabwe, but would have to take a lead role in negotiating the way forward following this week’s incredible events.
Besides being Zimbabwe’s nearest and dearest neighbour, South Africa is also the current chair of the Southern African Development Community.
The military takeover in Zimbabwe and detention of 93-year-old President Robert Mugabe has sent shock waves through the region. Diplomatic intervention is needed to negotiate a peaceful transition period and exit for the ageing leader.
But many Zimbabweans would be scornful of South Africa’s role – justifiably so – given its contribution to extending the life span of Mugabe’s regime and allowing the subversion of democracy over many years.
Former president Thabo Mbeki’s “quiet diplomacy” approach was widely condemned for providing cover to Mugabe and his cohorts as they stole elections, collapsed the economy, clamped down on the opposition, abolished media freedom and turned Zimbabwe into a failed state.
If South Africa had taken a firmer approach, there is no doubt that Mugabe would have been out of power years ago.
In 2008, South Africa played a key role in facilitating the “Global Political Agreement” that led to a fragile power-sharing agreement between Zanu-PF and two factions of the Movement for Democratic Change.
The government of national unity stumbled to an awkward end in 2013, with Mugabe still maintaining an iron grip.
He has proved to be indomitable, seemingly only willing to make way for his wife Grace to take power in next year’s elections.
But now Mugabe’s 37-year reign appears to be over, and his recently ousted vicepresident Emmerson Mnangagwa is reportedly preparing to take power.
The transition has to be a carefully managed process to maintain a semblance of the rule of law, prevent violence and instability in the region, and ensure democratic elections take place somewhere down the line.
It will be like conducting a vasectomy while skydiving. At this point, making the snip is more important than deploying the parachute.
The process will take proficiency and absolute trust in the mediators. This is where South Africa might fall short.
Pretoria does not have the diplomatic clout it once enjoyed internationally under the Mandela and Mbeki presidencies.
Zuma has not shown himself to be someone who cares particularly about the constitution or the rule of law, and has Mugabe-esque tendencies when it comes to turning cabinet into a personal protection force.
They also seem to have similar outlooks about opposition parties and the media.
In recent years, Zuma has mimicked Mugabe’s rhetoric about imperialist agendas and regime-change agents sponsored by western powers.
It is no secret that Zuma is fighting for his political life and could be ousted himself if his chief rival, Deputy President Cyril Ramaphosa, wins the ANC election race in December.
It might therefore be difficult for diplomatic partners to take South Africa seriously as a lead partner in Zimbabwe’s delicate transitional process.
Zuma could assign his International Relations Minister Maite Nkoana-Mashabane the task of dealing with the Zimbabwean crisis but she appears to have diminished what was formerly a senior cabinet post.
Declaring on an international television network that she had a hole in her head, and being exposed as a “sleepiest” in parliament did not help matters.
Zuma could send his favoured successor, the former African Union Commission chairwoman and foreign minister, Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma, who would be quite capable of mediating in Zimbabwe.
She might decline, however, given that she is in the midst of a high-stakes presidential campaign.
Whoever is chosen, the Zimbabweans are stuck with us to assist their transition – at least until a roadmap is in place for a transitional government and preparations are made for credible elections.
With some hand-holding from the region, Zimbabwe might finally negotiate its way out of the grip of a crooked old despot.
It is still unclear when South Africa will do the same.