For millions of Zimbabweans, the 21st day of November will forever remain a
historic day for that was the day what book-makers had thought impossible
happened in the Southern African country as the strong man of Zimbabwean
politics; President Robert Mugabe, was forced to step down as President after
37 years in power.
Worthy of note here is that Mugabe was not forced to resign by the common
Zimbabweans protesting on the street or the activities of Morgan Tsvangarai-led
main opposition party, the Movement for Democratic Change. He was forced out of
power by his own ZANU PF party, his own Military and his own ZANU PF dominated
parliament.
Earlier, the 93 year old leader had been placed under house arrest by his
own Military before being sacked by his party as the leader followed by threat
of impeachment which was actually initiated by Zimbabwean Parliamentarians
before his resignation letter arrived parliament late Tuesday.
Trouble started for the Nonagenarian when he sacked his 71 year old close
ally, the very powerful Mr Emmerson Mnangagwa, as Vice President, in a move
interpreted by many as an attempt to position his wife, Grace Mugabe, as his
successor.
Ironically, the sacked vice President will now take over Mugabe position and
serve out his remaining term which will see him remain in office till late
2018. This is according to an official statement released by the ruling ZANU PF
party.
History will remember Mugabe as a Patriot and Pan Africanist who played a
significant role in the armed struggle to free his country from the chains of
the British Imperialists and gifted his people with arguably the highest
literacy rate in Africa. But on a negative side, the
same history will see him as a Moses-turned-Pharaoh who saw himself as the only
“Messiah” in the whole of Zimbabwe leading to numberless lethal crackdown on
his perceived political opponents and gross human right abuses.
His well-intentioned but not-well-executed land reforms have seen the
Southern African country face severe sanctions from the West leading to
near-total destruction of the economy with the currency becoming almost
useless.
Beyond the euphoria occasioned by Mugabe’s resignation, the key questions remain:
What next for Zimbabwe?
Was Mugabe forced out of power out of a genuine desire to enthrone genuine
‘change’ for Zimbabweans or was it just a fallout of intra-party power tussle
informed by selfish interest of ZANU PF politicians and the army seen by many
as the military wing of the ruling party?
Will Mugabe’s potential replacement, the ex spy chief and shortly exiled
sacked Vice President, Mr Mnangagwa a.k.a “The Crocodile” be any different from
Mugabe, considering that him, it was, who personally supervised almost all the
grave cases of human right abuses and lethal crackdown on opposition which saw
hundreds dead and thousands forced out of their homes in 2008?
Will Zimbabwean military which once swore never to take orders from the
opposition leader, Morgan Tsvangarai, start seeing itself as a national
military meant to obey anyone democratically chosen by Zimbabweans or will it
continue to act as ZANU PF Military wing?
All these and many more are questions that will be answered in the coming
weeks and months. Whatever answers they get, one thing is certain:
For Zimbabwe
as a country, there is light at the end of the tunnel.
Whether it is the light of a young moon or that of an oncoming brake-less
trailer, only time will tell
But, For now,
It is not yet Uhuru for the former British colony.
