Claver Nyuki
The former President of the Republic of Zimbabwe, Robert Mugabe’s contributions to the country, pre and post-independence, can never be forgotten and his legacy will live on forever, which makes his rants at his 95th birthday celebrations at his Blue Roof mansion that much more surprising.
Mugabe’s rants, which unsurprisingly, has been embraced by the opposition camp, spells of a man who is bitter and resentful to the current administration and is still to come to terms with the status quo.
Towards the 2018 harmonised elections, Mugabe was quoted by the NewsDay of July 30, 2018 as being bitter and described the leadership led by President Mnangagwa as ‘tormentors.’
He went on to declare that he would not vote for President Mnangagwa as he blamed him for the position he was now in, “I have never met Chamisa. I wish to meet him if he wins. I can’t vote for those who’ve caused me to be in this situation. Mai (Joice) Mujuru (PRC presidential candidate) and Mai (Thokozani) Khupe (MDC-T presidential candidate) have less to offer, so there’s just Chamisa.”
United Kingdom (UK)’s The Telegraph News, also published an article after the November 17 2017 Operation Restore Legacy (ORL) in which it quoted Mugabe saying that he was illegally removed from power, claiming that President Mnangagwa was an illegitimate leader but in the NewsDay article he admits to having resigned voluntarily, claiming it was to avoid bloodshed.
In his rants, Mugabe accuses President Mnangagwa of being a murderer and that the Military is controlling the politics whereas the politics controls the gun in apparent reference to the use of Military and Police to quell the violent protests that had erupted.
What the former President failed to highlight was that the opposition led demonstrations and national stay-away had become violent with rowdy citizens torching property and attacking police officers and police stations, a situation that had turned to be a national security threat.
The MDC ever since its formation has not been known to accept defeat graciously under the late Morgan Tsvangirai and the same seems to be true about his successor Nelson Chamisa who elbowed the rightful heir, Thokozani Khupe to the party’s top position.
After seeing that the MDC young leader had lost the Presidential elections, he unleashed his youthful followers to unleash violence on unsuspecting civilians in a bid to illegitimatise the elections as they knew that once the elections are passed credible by the international community that would be the end of opposition politics in the country.
Some reports even revealed that the leaders of the violence were paid and given intoxicating substances at that party’s headquarters in Harare with some MDC youths receiving training in warfare in neighbouring countries to engage in acts of terror, all of which the former leader failed to disclose as he was advancing his own narrative.
Mugabe’s greatest undoing was bulldozing his wife up the political ladder in the hope of making her his successor. Who does not remember the public embarrassment inflicted on the then senior Party members including Kazembe Kazembe, Ray Kaukonde, George Charamba, Joice Mujuru and the now President, Emmerson Mnangagwa.
Schools of thought suggest that Mugabe’s plan to install his wife as his successor was to safeguard his many interests in the country hence his bitterness and resentment to President Mnangagwa for foiling his plans.
It is time for the former President to enjoy his retirement and enjoy old age and give President Mnangagwa and his leadership an opportunity to move the country forward. Let bygones be bygones.
