The Press and Journal (Inverness, Highlands, and Islands)
Mugabe ‘fine’ after army
Militaryhastakenoverstate broadcasterandhasrulerincustody
Robert Mugabe is “fine” but is confined to his home after a night of unrest in Zimbabwe that included a military takeover of the state broadcaster, South African president Jacob Zuma has said.
Mr Zuma said he had spoken with 93-year-old Mr Mugabe, who he continues to refer to as president of Zimbabwe.
South Africa’s ministers of defence and state security are being sent to Zimbabwe to meet with Mr Mugabe and the military, Mr Zuma said.
Zimbabwe’s army said it has Mr Mugabe and his wife in custody and is securing government offices following a night of unrest.
The night’s action triggered speculation of a coup but the military’s supporters praised it as a “bloodless correction”.
For the first time, the southern African nation is seeing the military oppose Mr Mugabe, the world’s oldest head of state and one of the longest-serving authoritarian rulers.
Mr Mugabe has been in power since Zimbabwe’s independence from white rule in 1980.The move comes after Mr Mugabe last
“Soughtto reassurethe countryorder willberestored”
week fired vice president Emmerson Mnangagwa. Mr Mnangagwa - who enjoyed the military’s backing - fled Zimbabwe but said he would return to lead the country.
More than 100 senior officials allegedly supporting him have been listed for disciplinary measures by a faction associated with Mr Mugabe’s wife Grace. The first lady appeared positioned to replace Mr Mnangagwa as one of the country’s two vice presidents, leading many in Zimbabwe to suspect she could succeed her husband.
Grace Mugabe is unpopular with some Zimbabweans because of lavish spending as many struggle.
Armed soldiers in armoured personnel carriers stationed themselves at key points in capital Harare while Zimbabweans formed long lines at banks in order to draw the limited cash available.
In an address to the nation after taking control of the Zimbabwe Broadcasting Corporation, Major General Sibusiso Moyo said yesterday that the military is targeting “criminals” around Mr Mugabe and sought to reassure the country that order will be restored.
It is a story that has been repeated since Roman times – a ruthless tyrant is toppled not by those he subjugates or terrorises, but by the ambitions of those within his own circle. On the face of it, President Robert Mugabe’s precarious position in Zimbabwe looked like a classic coup. Certainly, joyous anti-Mugabe campaigners were interpreting it in that way. Fears that his wife Grace, a controversial figure within the country and in his own ruling party, would succeed him as leader appear to have tipped the balance of power. After decades of being under the boot, often in the most brutal of ways, the country deserves a chance to recover and lead a normal life. The removal of Mugabe would be welcomed by right-thinking democratic countries around the world, who have looked on in horror at what was going on within Zimbabwe. The region as a whole also deserves less turbulence and more peaceful co-existence between neighbours.