Mugabe: The End of the Road

Robert Gabriel Mugabe, the tyrannical dictator of Zimbabwe, whose murderous regime has destroyed the economic fabric of the country, has reached the point of no return. Having destroyed the country’s agricultural system with his land reform programme, those people who knew how to create wealth for Zimbabwe have fled (or have been killed) and now the country is destitute.

With starvation looming in the coming months, Zimbabwe is no longer a producer of food on a large scale. Opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai, leader of the Movement for Democratic Change, has long claimed that only ZANU-PF cardholders are allowed the food aid supplies which has kept thousands of people from starving to death. Now he states that there is only enough fuel to last until the end of January, after which there is no money left to buy any more.

He stated that close friends of Mugabe have said that the 78-year-old President has warned his family to prepare for the day when he is not in power, although he claimed recently that he will “never” go into exile. Morgan Tsvangirai issued a public statement yesterday in which he claimed that two leading ZANU-PF members had offered him the resignation of the president, presumably in a scenario of a government of national reconciliation, formed by ZANU-PF, the MDC and with the army playing an important role.

The two men are believed to be Emmerson Mnagagwa, third in the ZANU-PF party ranks and General Vitalis Zvinavashe, Commander-in-Chief of the Zimbabwe Armed Forces. As with all dictatorships, the machinery that keeps the man in power shows its patience so long as the status quo does not shift too heavily.

When the toll on the daily lives of the average citizens becomes too heavy, something has to give. The machinery shifts, the leader falls, along with his closest aides and those who can, either lie low in retirement or negotiate their entry into the new regime.

The legacy of Robert Mugabe is a pitiful reminder of the arrogance, ignorance and butchery which is so blatantly evident when one reads the map of sub-Saharan Africa. He will go down in history as one of Africa’s worst leaders. His 23 years in power have been a disgrace to his country, to his continent and to his people.

Timothy BANCROFT-HINCHEY PRAVDA.Ru