Robert Mugabe is insisting he remains Zimbabwe’s only legitimate ruler,
an intelligence source said on Thursday, and is resisting mediation by a
Catholic priest to allow the 93-year-old a graceful exit after what is
being described as a military coup.
The priest, Fidelis Mukonori, is acting as a middle-man between Mugabe
and the generals, who seized power on Wednesday in a targeted operation
against “criminals” in his entourage, a senior political source told
Reuters.
The source could not provide details of the talks, which appear to be
aimed at a smooth and bloodless transition after the departure of
Mugabe, who has led Zimbabwe since independence in 1980.
Mugabe, still seen by many Africans as a liberation hero, is reviled in
the West as a despot whose disastrous handling of the economy and
willingness to resort to violence to maintain power destroyed one of
Africa’s most promising states.
Zimbabwean intelligence reports seen by Reuters suggest that former
security chief Emmerson Mnangagwa, who was ousted as vice-president this
month, has been mapping out a post-Mugabe vision with the military and
opposition for more than a year.
Fuelling speculation that that plan might be rolling into action,
opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai, who has been receiving cancer
treatment in Britain and South Africa, returned to Harare late on
Wednesday, his spokesman said.
South Africa said Mugabe had told President Jacob Zuma by telephone on
Wednesday that he was confined to his home but was otherwise fine and
the military said it was keeping him and his family, including wife
Grace, safe.
Despite the lingering admiration for Mugabe, there is little public
affection for 52-year-old Grace, a former government typist who started
having an affair with Mugabe in the early 1990s as his first wife,
Sally, was dying of kidney disease.
Dubbed “DisGrace” or “Gucci Grace” on account of her reputed love of
shopping, she enjoyed a meteoric rise through the ranks of Mugabe’s
ruling ZANU-PF in the last two years, culminating in Mnangagwa’s removal
a week ago – a move seen as clearing the way for her to succeed her
husband.
In contrast to the high political drama unfolding behind closed doors,
the streets of the capital remained calm, with people going about their
daily business, albeit under the watch of soldiers on armoured vehicles
at strategic locations.
Whatever the final outcome, the events could signal a
once-in-a-generation change for the former British colony, a regional
breadbasket reduced to destitution by economic policies Mugabe’s critics
have long blamed on him.
Source: Reuters
