Burden of proof on Mnangagwa to convince a doubting nation
Mqondisi Dube | Tuesday November 28, 2017 16:17
Emerson Mnangagwa is reportedly a man of few words. Not necessarily shy, but quiet and calculating. The 75-year-old has been blamed for the early 1980s disturbances which saw an estimated 20,000 Ndebele people butchered in the marginalised provinces of Midlands and Matebeleland. Mnangagwa is from the Midlands province, but belongs to the dominant Shona tribe. He has however, remained mum about his role in the atrocities, as opinion swell around his ascendancy to the presidency. Instead, he blamed the army for the disturbances, which saw a North Korean-trained army invading the two provinces and killing people.
He was State security minister soon after Zimbabwe’s Independence in 1980, a dark period for the country, which witnessed the Matebeleland massacres. Mnangagwa is described in some quarters as a ruthless leader in the same mould, if not ahead, as Mugabe.
One person said it is difficult to look Mnangagwa in the eye, as he carries that intimidating stature. The ruling party elite has been accused of lining its pockets at the expense of suffering population living on less than $1 per day. Mnangagwa is said to be one of the richest members of the ruling party. Most of ZANU PF’s members’ wealth, is perceived largely as ill-gotten.
In 2008, when ZANU PF lost the presidential elections to Morgan Tsvangirai’s MDC, Mnangagwa, together with some service chiefs, were reportedly involved in ugly, behind the scenes manoeuvres to ensure the party clung on to power, hook or crook.
The will of the people, through a democratic process, had been ignored. Glasses clinked at Jongwe House, ZANU PF’s headquarters as the party, after a brutal campaign left scores dead and others homeless, had tightened its grip on power. A power-sharing agreement followed in 2009 where Mnangagwa served as defence minister and in the process, likely, entrenched himself inthe army, which was later to come to his rescue, just days after Mugabe had tossed him out of both party and government.
He was appointed the country’s Vice President in 2014 and was widely seen as Mugabe’s successor until the emergence of a faction aligned to the First Lady, Grace Mugabe, going by the moniker, G40.
He faced stern resistance from the faction, which was opposed to his ascendancy to the top post and Mnangagwa was eventually shown the door in brutal fashion early this month. He had claimed his rivals had tried to poison him through an ice cream served during the party’s countrywide rallies. Feared army commander, Constantino Chiwenga emerged on the scene and the ‘Crocodile’ was rescued after Mugabe was spectacularly toppled. The Crocodile, a lawyer by profession, returned to Zimbabwe on Wednesday in preparation for his swearing-in ceremony today. This was after a mass demonstration, in which people of all walks of life took to the streets to openly show their displeasure at President Mugabe last week Saturday. It was a historic moment as the country edged closer to history; Mugabe was about to be forced out, ending 37years of iron-fist rule. But as the euphoria of removing Mugabe slowly dies down across the resource rich southern African country, Mnangagwa has been thrust more into the spotlight. His past is being hung out for public scrutiny and it doesn’t make good reading. Mnangagwa’s ascendancy to the top post, presents him with a glorious opportunity to silence the Doubting Thomases within and without the country.
But he appeared to fluff his lines at times when he made his inaugural speech on Wednesday. To start with, his presidential motorcade appeared too lengthy for a person who wants to correct the past. One of Mugabe’s criticism was that he was careless with expenditure, and employed a convoy far too big for an ailing economy.
When he stood up to deliver his speech, it was sadly laced with “Pasi ne mhandu” (meaning down with enemies) chants, a language synonymous with a brutal and repressive ZANU PF, or indicating a party or a country at war. But Zimbabwe is not at war anymore, and this was Mnangagwa’s moment to shine and deliver an all embracing and assuring speech, laced with hope. He was supposed to deliver an early, unambiguous and emphatic message that he wants the past relegated to the dustbins of history. It was a sparkling opportunity to dismiss those who see him as an old wine in a new bottle, or that ZANU PF is still the same old snake, that has shed its scaly skin. That opportunity, bar, far and wide statements that the economy and job-creation would be priority, unfortunately went begging.
Mugabe, the person might be gone, but the people of Zimbabwe, and it is safe to say the majority, are fearful that, what is now called Mugabe-ism (the system), firmly remains. Now the burden of proof is firmly on Mnangagwa to prove the population wrong. There is no better chance than now, and he must remember that he is dealing with a restive population, which has already tasted blood after so many years of repression. Although it would be too harsh to judge him this early, first impressions count and on Wednesday, Mnangagwa might have blasted over, the first gilt-edged opportunity.