To be or not to be: Mugabe’s latest headache

“I had once asked him directly, “What is the supreme organ in Zimbabwe? He had answered:” The supreme body in Zimbabwe is the central committee of ZANU PF”. I told him that could not be so: that the supreme organ of the country could only be its elected parliament”. This is the conversation between Joshua Nkomo and Robert Mugabe contained in Joshua Nkomo’s book “The Story of my Life”. The conversation between the two was before the Gukurahundi massacres.

It’s clear from the conversation that Robert Mugabe did not start acting outside the law later in his reign. What is even coincidental, is that the same Central committee that he branded as the Supreme organ is the one that recalled him from government in November 2017. After a careful reading of the book, the reader gets a deeper understanding of the person of Mugabe, his flaws and strength. The personal experience of Father Zimbabwe as he narrates suffering at the hands of Mugabe goes on to show how Mugabe would not allow anything stand in his way in consolidating his position and firm grip on power. Good book, good read. Rest in Peace Father Zimbabwe.

Why can’t Mugabe get it?

Former deposed President Robert Mugabe, has been making the headlines lately. For the first time after his ceremonious removal from power, the former president had chosen to remain silent for reasons best known to himself. In recent weeks however, Mugabe has treated those who care to listen with revealing dossiers of how unhappy and troubled he is after the military coup. During a recent interview, he lamented the unfair treatment by the current administration that range from ill-treatment of his wife, delay in pension pecks etc. The personal tragedy that befell Mugabe in November 2017 does not deserve sympathy but must constantly serve to remind him of the broader entrenched trend of repression, brazen disregard for democratic rights that his administration had normalized for the past 37 years.

His plea to regional groupings such as the African Union, SADC has fallen on deaf ears as it seems that no African leaders shares some sympathy for him. Today, the once seemingly invincible dictator who at one point described himself as the Hitler of the times, is detested and lampooned by the common man. His unconstitutional removal from power was well celebrated even by opposition parties. For many years, Mugabe’s legacy of tyranny and violence characterized Zimbabwean politics. Many opposition party supporters were killed in cold blood, maimed and killed by Mugabe as he continued his firm grip on power. The Mugabe that the citizens were accustomed to would abduct political opponents and rig elections. Today Mugabe cuts a lone figure in the wilderness and laments about people killed during the coup and the need to return the country to what he terms a “constitutional democracy”. These are the same things that he never upheld during his long tenure. The old dictator must now find a hole and hide out of shame and stop lecturing the country about democracy.

Enter NPF

Last week, a picture of Robert Mugabe, Jealousy Mawarire and Ambrose Mutinhiri went viral on social media and further confirmed media reports that Mugabe indeed was in support of the formation of a new political party, National Patriotic Front (NPF). While for now the structure of NPF is not yet known, the party only has a spokesperson (Mawarire) and former Minister of State for Mashonaland East Province, Ambrose Mutinhiri as its president. What remains unclear is why Mugabe chose not to be its president given that last year he had been endorsed by all the country’s 10 provinces as ZANU PF presidential candidate. Mugabe appears too careful to announce his decision to join or front a new political party. In a newspaper article recently, Mugabe revealed that Mnangagwa had promised to discuss with him an array of issues once he came back from a state visit to the DRC.Mugabe also knows that for all benefits that are due to him to be swift, he needs the cooperation of Mnangagwa so I don’t see him joining any opposition party.

The impact of the Official Secret act

Added to an array of problems for Mugabe is the archaic colonial-era Act; the Official Secrets Act [Chapter 11:09]. This Act was promulgated on 27 February 1970 by the minority colonial regime for among other purposes, “prohibit(ing) the disclosure for any purpose prejudicial to the safety or interests of Zimbabwe (then Rhodesia) of information which might be useful to an enemy; to make provision for the purpose of preventing persons from obtaining or disclosing official secrets in Zimbabwe; to prevent unauthorized persons from making sketches, plans or models of and to prevent trespass upon defence works, fortifications, military reserves and other prohibited places.” The penalty for disclosure of state secrets under Section 4 of Zimbabwe's secrecy law is imprisonment for up to (20) years, a fine, or both.

Over the years, ZANU PF was hit by massive desertions as party cadres fell out of favour with Mugabe and subsequently fired. Many names such as Edgar Tekere, Margaret Dongo, Didymus Mutasa, Joyce Mujuru and more recently members of the G40 cabal. None of the above members at any point dared to expose the intricate details of how ZANU PF ran its affairs that kept it in power for so long. The only one who came close more recently was Didymus Mutasa who revealed that after the 2008 elections, he was on his was to his rural home to make room for an MDC-T government. While Joyce Mujuru has remained actively involved in opposition politics,she has failed to win citizens heart because of her failure cut the umbilical cord from ZANU PF and to provide firsthand information on how the 2008 elections were rigged given that she was the country’s Vice President.

All this owes to the fact that all these former cadres are away of the consequences of the Official Secrets Act in the event of it violation. As tyrant who had ruled for 37 years, Mugabe finds himself bound by the dictates of the Official Secrets Act. It is quite revealing that Mugabe was too general on revealing the statistics of people killed during the coup but only mentioned it in passing. This is because he is aware of the implications of this act and even more damaging is the fact that he presided over the killing of his political opponents since independence so making damaging revelations might implicate him in some of the atrocities committed by his government.

In the final analysis, Mugabe remains beholden to the whims and directives of the current administration. For now, he will desperately choose to hold to the little dignity he thinks he still has and try to use it as a trump card to convince Mnangagwa that he needs his blessing before the elections. For Mugabe. It’s a tough choice, if he chooses to become part of opposition, he risks serious persecution. The days ahead will be interesting

The writer, Rawlings Magede is a Pan Africanist and writes in his personal capacity. He tweets @rawedges and contactable on vamagede@gmail.com

President Mnangagwa’s visit to DRC deplorable

This past week, President Emmerson Mnangagwa visited his “brother”, Joseph Kabila, the current illegitimate President of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). The visit by Mnangagwa was part of his regional adventure to brief his Democratic Republic of Congo counterpart Joseph Kabila on the transition that led to the end of former president Robert Mugabe's rule last year. According to the state-owned Herald newspaper, Mnangagwa held a closed-door meeting in Kinshasa with Kabila.

Mnangagwa visit to the DRC comes after weeks of engagement with other regional countries such as Angola, South Africa, Mozambique, Namibia and Zambia. In understanding the intended purpose of Mnangagwa “closed door” meeting with Kabila, it will also be good to look at the deep-seated problems currently devilling the DRC. According to the country’s constitution, Kabila’s mandated term ended back in December 2016. However, his administration simply failed to organize elections and has embarked on various attempts to keep the president in power. His refusal to respect the constitution prompted widespread non-violent urban protests, which were met with harsh repression and deadly force. To date the DRC, remains engulfed in a crisis owing to the failure by Kabila to respect the constitution.

AU, SADC silence on the DRC shocking

Botswana became the first country to explicitly call Kabila, to step down. As most African leaders maintained a stony silence in response to Congolese leader Joseph Kabila’s determination to postpone elections and extend his stay in office, Botswana President Ian Khama’s government shot straight from the hip.

“Some political leaders refuse to relinquish power when their term of office expires,” he said on Twitter. “It is clear that such leaders are driven by self-interest, instead of those of the people they govern. The Democratic Republic of Congo is a case in point”. In my view, President Khama must at least be commended for being vocal on countries that disrespect the constitution. During the Mugabe era, Khama crossed swords with fellow African leaders many times after they remained mum on the lack of democratic culture in Zimbabwe. And today, Khama has once again voiced his frustration over the blatant disregard of the constitution by Kabila.

For 17 years, DRC has lurched from one crisis to another. In all this, Kabila has been assisted by an array of actors – including donors, multinationals and international institutions – who have tolerated and enabled his abuses. These actors have unfortunately prioritized stability over democracy which unfortunately the Congolese people do not have at the moment.

Following the violent and heavy repression on protesters who expressed disapproval of Kabila’s continued grip on power, the reaction from much of the international community contrasted sharply with opinion in Congo. There was a deafening silence from some international quarters, while others urged all parties to refrain from violence. Such calls however neglect the deep seated problems of the lack of constitutionalism in the DRC that continue to dog the DRC till this day. To date, Kabila has reneged on two deals to get him to leave office and the silence from regional bodies such as the African Union (AU) and Southern African Development Community (SADC) has been sickening to say the least.

Why ED visited DRC

Both Kabila and Mnangagwa have some similarities. They all face the heavy burden of legitimacy. They all came to power via the use of the military and they continue to serve as “illegitimate” leaders at the mercy of the military. While Mnangagwa’s visit was meant to drum up regional support and issues of legitimacy on his Presidency, they are both aware of the onerous task that lies ahead. On one hand, Kabila is reluctant to call for elections and step down. If he goes this route, that will signal the end of his 17-year tenure as President of the DRC.On one hand, Mnangagwa presidency has somewhat been quite controversial. His desire to rebrand ZANU PF has seen the 75-year-old president creating false hope and expectation. His 100 days in office has not yielded any tangible reforms. Added to this, in his 100 days in office, he has managed to “charm” the international community by promising to undertake serious reforms around elections and the economy. Any reasonable observer will conclude that Zimbabwe needs an all hands on deck approach to build a truly prosperous political and economic environment, one predicated on a foundation of justice and accountability. It is difficult to deny the negative impact that the military coup in Zimbabwe has had on the country’s social and political stability. ED has a lot of work ahead of him including the holding of a genuinely free and fair election this year, and if not much of the country will remain shackled, unable to break the hammerlock of an increasingly retrograde regime. Both “illegitimate” presidents know that indeed 2018 is judgement day for them and this even explains why they even conducted closed door meetings possibly to strategize.

Soon after the closed door meeting with Kabila, ED remarked, "I feel home away from home. President Kabila is a brother to me, I am his elder brother, he is younger, but of course he is my elder colleague. “He has been president for some time, but we are actually family and I am very happy to be here in the DRC and I was briefing my brother about this transition that has taken place in Zimbabwe and committing the new administration to consolidate our already excellent relationship."

What is saddening is the fact that our own media back home has failed to unpack the improperness of ED’S visit to the DRC.Whether it was done in the spirit of briefing Kabila about “transition” in Zimbabwe, visiting an individual who has failed to respect his own people’s constitution is deplorable and more or less exposes ED as an individual who embraces the blatant violation of constitutions. If anything, if ED is serious about issues of constitutionalism and democracy he must join hands with the lonely voice of Khama in calling for the stepping down of Kabila.

In the final analysis, Kabila is not the President of the DRC, regional bodies and the International community must appreciate this. The crisis in the DRC is desperate and neglected by regional groupings such as SADC and the AU. With several African set to hold election this year, will SADC and AU ensure that elections in African are peaceful, free and fair given that they have failed to act decisively on the current crisis in the DRC? I don’t think so!

Rawlings Magede is a Pan Africanist and writes here in his personal capacity. He tweets @rawedges and contactable on vamagede@gmail.com

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