A glance into 2019, 2020 politics

AS the curtains came down to 2019, it was time to review the year gone by as well as peek into the 2020 crystal ball to unpack prospects for the New Year on the political arena.

2019 was packed with a myriad of highlights including the death of former President Robert Mugabe in September this year, the election of President Emmerson Mnangagwa as chair of Sadc’s Organ on Defence and Security and the epochal Sadc anti-sanctions solidarity march.

On the ballot box, some would have expected epic battles between Zanu PF and the MDC Alliance led by Nelson Chamisa but most contests in by-elections were won by the ruling party, with its supposed main rival turning out to be a pantomime loser.

There was a lot of the good, the bad and the ugly in 2019, as the year was action-packed and many will take lessons learned into the New Year.

January violence

Sadly, 2019 began on a gloomy note when in January opposition activists embarked on riots over a fuel hike that unfortunately led to the death of at least six people. As usual, hostile international media feasted on the unfortunate incidents to sully the country’s image.

The antithetical media reports downplayed how some of the rioters had looted goods worth millions of dollars and had been involved in ghastly acts of violence such as assaulting police officers and burning property. Thankfully, security forces are now wiser and in his New Year’s Day message for 2020, President Emmerson Mnangagwa underscored that violence would not be tolerated.

“Therefore, in the coming year, let us all shun violence. Those that propagate violence must be exposed, condemned and rejected.

“Let us declare that never again shall we lose the precious lives of our fellow countrymen, women and children, for the political or monetary expediency of a few,” he said in apparent reference to opposition forces that take up every opportunity to soil the country’s image to gain political mileage.

Positively in 2020, it is clear that law enforcement is well-equipped to deal with any violent protests that are usually sponsored by the country’s enemies with the collusion of some opposition parties.

Mugabe’s death

Cde Mugabe’s death on September 6 marked an end of an era for an African icon who left a rich and enduring legacy that has inspired the present and future generations to pursue the true principles of Pan-Africanism.

His passing-on was unfortunately followed by some controversies with his family snubbing the National Heroes Acre where a special Mausoleum was under construction.

The national hero was eventually buried at his rural home in Zvimba. Aside the controversies, Zimbabwe’s founding Prime Minister received a befitting send-off as thousands of Zimbabweans packed Rufaro Stadium to view his body while current and former Heads of States also paid tribute to him at a memorial service at the National Sports Stadium.

Cde Mugabe championed Zimbabwe’s land reform programme and his successor President Mnangagwa has made it clear that while the historic exercise remains irreversible, some adjustments would be made in tune with the ongoing land audit that has unearthed massive flaws.

In 2020, it can be expected that the land reform will be revisited by addressing multiple farm ownerships and cutting farm sizes for those who own vast tracts of underutilised land.

Chairmanship of Sadc

President Mnangagwa took over as Sadc chair of the Organ on Defence and Security at the regional bloc’s summit in Dar es Salaam in Tanzania in August in what was one of the high points of his two-year tenure as President.

He immediately got down to business as it was his duty to ensure that Sadc oversaw crucial elections in Botswana and Mozambique in October while Namibia and Mauritius held polls in November.

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