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[webfact]

Zimbabwe's army seizes power, Mugabe confined but 'safe'

By MacDonald Dzirutwe

 

Military vehicles and soldiers patrol the streets in Harare, Zimbabwe, November 15,2017. REUTERS/Philimon Bulawayo

 

HARARE (Reuters) - Zimbabwe's military seized power on Wednesday saying it was holding President Robert Mugabe and his family safe while targeting "criminals" in the entourage of the man who has ruled the nation since independence 37 years ago.

 

Soldiers seized the state broadcaster and a general appeared on television to announce the takeover. Armoured vehicles blocked roads to the main government offices, parliament and the courts in central Harare, while taxis ferried commuters to work nearby. The atmosphere in the capital remained calm.

 

In his first contact with the outside world since the takeover, Mugabe spoke by telephone to the president of South Africa, Jacob Zuma, and told him he was confined to his home but fine, the South African presidency said in a statement.

 

It was not clear whether the apparent military coup would bring a formal end to the 93-year-old Mugabe's rule; the main goal of the generals appeared to be preventing Mugabe's wife Grace, 41 years his junior, from succeeding him.

 

But whether or not he goes, it may mark the end of the country's dominance by Mugabe, the last of Africa's state founders still in power from the era of the struggle against colonialism, and one of the continent's most polarising figures.

 

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.

 

He plunged Zimbabwe into a fresh political crisis last week by firing his vice president and presumed successor. The generals believed that move was aimed at clearing a path for Grace Mugabe to take over and announced on Monday they were prepared to "step in" if purges of their allies did not end.

 

"We are only targeting criminals around him (Mugabe) who are committing crimes that are causing social and economic suffering in the country in order to bring them to justice," Major General SB Moyo, Chief of Staff Logistics, said on television.

 

"As soon as we have accomplished our mission, we expect that the situation will return to normalcy."

 

In a sign Grace Mugabe's allies were coming under pressure, the head of the ruling party's youth wing, Kudzanai Chipanga, appeared on state TV on Wednesday evening to apologise for comments he had made criticising the army a day earlier. He said he was speaking voluntarily.

 

United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, the African Union and Western countries called for calm.

 

South Africa's defence and state security ministers flew into Harare to try to arrange talks between Mugabe and the generals, South African media reported without going into further details.

 

"We cannot tell how developments in Zimbabwe will play out in the days ahead and we do not know whether this marks the downfall of Mugabe or not," British Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson told parliament. "We will do all we can, with our international partners, to ensure this provides a genuine opportunity for all Zimbabweans to decide their future."

 

Finance Minister Ignatius Chombo, a leading member of the ruling party's 'G40' faction, led by Grace Mugabe, had been detained by the military, a government source said.

 

CAREENING OFF A CLIFF

 

By Wednesday afternoon it was business as usual in Harare's suburbs while there was less traffic than normal in the city centre. Residents spoke in awe of events that had previously seemed unthinkable.

 

"I don't support the army but I am happy to see Mugabe gone, maybe this country can start to develop again," said Rumbi Katepfu, preparing to shut her mobile phone shop early in downtown Harare. "I did not think this would ever happen... We used to think Mugabe and Grace were invincible."

 

As evening fell there were fewer people on the streets than usual. In one park, a lone couple shared a chocolate bar, seemingly unconcerned by the presence of troops. "What's there to fear? This is a free country," said Nathan Mpariwa, stroking the hand of his partner.

 

Tanks blocked roads after dark and soldiers with automatic weapons kept up their patrols, but made no effort to stop people streaming home from work.

 

Whatever the final outcome, the events could signal a once-in-a-generation change for the southern African nation, once a regional bread-basket, reduced to destitution by an economic crisis Mugabe's opponents have long blamed on him.

 

Even many of Mugabe's most loyal supporters had come to oppose the rise of his wife, who courted the powerful youth wing of the ruling party but alienated the military, led by Mugabe's former guerrilla comrades from the 1970s independence struggle.

 

"This is a correction of a state that was careening off the cliff," Chris Mutsvangwa, the leader of the liberation war veterans, told Reuters. "It's the end of a very painful and sad chapter in the history of a young nation, in which a dictator, as he became old, surrendered his court to a gang of thieves around his wife."

 

The opposition Movement for Democratic Change called for a peaceful return to constitutional democracy, adding it hoped the military intervention would lead to the "establishment of a stable, democratic and progressive nation state".

 

Zuma - speaking on behalf of the Southern African Development Community (SADC) - expressed hope there would be no unconstitutional changes, and urged Zimbabwe's government and the military "to resolve the political impasse amicably".

 

ECONOMIC IMPLOSION

 

While most African states gained independence by the end of the 1960s, Zimbabwe remained one of the last European colonies on the continent, ruled by white settlers as Rhodesia until 1980. Mugabe took power after a long guerrilla struggle, and two decades later ordered the forcible seizure of white-owned farms.

 

The collapse in output that followed was one of the worst economic depressions of modern times. By 2007-2008 inflation topped out at 500 billion percent. Mugabe blamed Britain and the United States for sabotaging the country to bring it to heel. His followers used violence to suppress a growing domestic opposition he branded lackeys of former colonial powers.

 

The economy briefly stabilised from 2010-2014 when Mugabe was forced to accept a power-sharing government with the opposition, but since then the recovery has unravelled. In the last year, a chronic shortage of dollars has led to long queues outside banks. Imported goods are running out and economists say that by some measures inflation is now at 50 percent a month.

 

The economic implosion has destabilised the region, sending millions of poor labourers to neighbouring South Africa.

 

"It's an amazing thing that is happening. It was about time but it might be 20 years too late," said Billy, 30, a Zimbabwean working as a marketing officer in South Africa. Asked if he would return to Zimbabwe if the economy was revived, he said: "Definitely, there is no place like home."

 

The political crisis came to a head last week when Mugabe sacked his presumed heir, Vice President Emerson Mnangagwa, a long-serving former leader of the security forces nicknamed "the Crocodile" for his role as Mugabe's enforcer over the decades.

 

The head of the military held a news conference with top brass on Monday threatening to "step in" if the purge of veterans continued. Soldiers deployed across Harare on Tuesday and seized the state broadcaster after Mugabe's ruling party accused the military chief of treason.

 

According to a trove of intelligence documents reviewed by Reuters this year, Mnangagwa has been planning to revitalise the economy by bringing back white farmers kicked off their land and patching up relations with the World Bank and IMF.

Graphic - Zimbabwe dollar: http://tmsnrt.rs/2nXYVwV

 

Graphic - Zimbabawe's economic struggles:

 

Map of Harare -

 

(Additional reporting by Ed Cropley, James Macharia, Joe Brock and Alexander Winning in Johannesburg and Michelle Nichols at the United NAtions; Writing by James Macharia, Ed Cropley and Peter Graff; Graphic by Jermey Gaunt; Editing by Janet Lawrence and Andrew Heavens)

 

-- © Copyright Reuters 2017-11-16

[BuaBS]

We'll have to wait for the alt media to know which foreign agencies "helped" the Zimbabwe army with their coup.

[FreddieRoyle]

Poor Grace, her grasp on power was so close she could smell it. And then, it was gone. What next? Some sort of what happened book and a tour on the lecture circuit like the rest of the has-beens that thought they deserved power, that it was "their turn". Enjoy the bitter pill, Ms Mugabe.

[Briggsy]

3 minutes ago, FreddieRoyle said:

Poor Grace, her grasp on power was so close she could smell it. And then, it was gone. What next? Some sort of what happened book and a tour on the lecture circuit like the rest of the has-beens that thought they deserved power, that it was "their turn". Enjoy the bitter pill, Ms Mugabe.

Usually African deposed leaders go to live in Europe in multiple million-Euro properties counting their zillions.

 

However, Mrs Mugabe may not be permitted to leave (I'm sure her cash is safely stashed outside of Zimbabwe). Also European countries are getting tougher and tougher on African money laundering and she definitely does not want prosecution, jail time and asset confiscation in Europe.

 

So, I'll put my money on stuck in Zim for a few months before a deal is struck allowing her to live in exile in SA.

[ezzra]

A ransom demand was issued by the coup leaders demandeding

10 trillion ZE dollars which Mugabe quickly produced from his back pocket....

[Berkshire]

26 minutes ago, ezzra said:

A ransom demand was issued by the coup leaders demandeding

10 trillion ZE dollars which Mugabe quickly produced from his back pocket....

Mugabe can just give them this and say "keep the change"....

 

[Aussieroaming]

good riddance to the pox ridden despot. Too bad that the people waiting in the wings are likely to be just as bad.

[baboon]

1 hour ago, Briggsy said:

Usually African deposed leaders go to live in Europe in multiple million-Euro properties counting their zillions.

 

However, Mrs Mugabe may not be permitted to leave (I'm sure her cash is safely stashed outside of Zimbabwe). Also European countries are getting tougher and tougher on African money laundering and she definitely does not want prosecution, jail time and asset confiscation in Europe.

 

So, I'll put my money on stuck in Zim for a few months before a deal is struck allowing her to live in exile in SA.

There is always Thailand. They have been here a fair few times and have connections to the place...

[Rancid]

I like that the article confirms Mugabe is safe, like we were all fraught with angst that a brutal greed-ridden dictator might be in some discomfort.

[ratcatcher]

Cecil Rhodes, up in the Matopos, must be laughing in his grave.

[canopus1969]

37 years too late...

[bert bloggs]

I had a couple who were friends years ago in Britain ,they had lived and run a thriving business back there ,employed lots of local people , then Mugabe took over and white rule ended , obviously their business was lost they came to the UK and kept in contact with a couple of old employes , who were near starvation , no matter what we say about the white man taking over and robbing Africa , When the Black man took over it was 100 times worse . sorry if this is not PC but often the reality isnt .

[nausea]

The news surprised me; given Mugabe's track record I was expecting the "traitor" Chiwenga to be on the receiving end, but then I guess at 90+ Mugabe isn't the man he used to be.

 

5 hours ago, webfact said:

It was not clear whether the apparent military coup would bring a formal end to the 93-year-old Mugabe's rule; the main goal of the generals appeared to be preventing Mugabe's wife Grace, 41 years his junior, from succeeding him.

So what happens next, I wonder?

 

'The easiest way to present a veneer of legality is that Mugabe reappoints Mnangagwa as vice president, briefly - Mugabe then retires.'

(Derek Matyszak, analyst at the Pretoria-based Institute for Security Studies, per The Daily Mail).

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-5087105/Zimbabwe-s-despised-Gucci-Grace-flees-Namibia.html

 

The article continued that under Zimbabwe's constitution, the first vice president would automatically become acting president for 90 days.

 

Not exactly all change, but then any change is better than no change in a failed State like Zimbabwe, I suppose.

[BuaBS]

1 hour ago, bert bloggs said:

I had a couple who were friends years ago in Britain ,they had lived and run a thriving business back there ,employed lots of local people , then Mugabe took over and white rule ended , obviously their business was lost they came to the UK and kept in contact with a couple of old employes , who were near starvation , no matter what we say about the white man taking over and robbing Africa , When the Black man took over it was 100 times worse . sorry if this is not PC but often the reality isnt .

Same goes for South Africa , well maybe not 100 times worse.

[Baerboxer]

Can we expect the usual collection of TVF posters who condemn all things coup like to pounce on this thread and declare the Zimbabwe Defense Force to be right wing fascists carrying out a coup against a democratically elected President?

 

Seems Mugabe has the same idea of 'democracy" as Hun Sen. Murder and imprison the opposition, keep succession in the family. Ah, but they were democratically elected so it's all ok. 

[FreddieRoyle]

Does this change anything regarding Bob Mugabe being awarded the Human Rights ambassador award by the United Nations? Those naughty nasty soldiers locking up our most loved Human rights ambassador!!

[Morch]

53 minutes ago, FreddieRoyle said:

Does this change anything regarding Bob Mugabe being awarded the Human Rights ambassador award by the United Nations? Those naughty nasty soldiers locking up our most loved Human rights ambassador!!

 

It wasn't an award, but a position/title ("goodwill ambassador", whatever that means). The agency was WHO (World Health Organization), headed by someone possibly owing a political debt to Mugabe. The whole thing was cancelled a few weeks ago, due to the expected international criticism and outrage.

[impulse]

4 hours ago, bert bloggs said:

I had a couple who were friends years ago in Britain ,they had lived and run a thriving business back there ,employed lots of local people , then Mugabe took over and white rule ended , obviously their business was lost they came to the UK and kept in contact with a couple of old employes , who were near starvation , no matter what we say about the white man taking over and robbing Africa , When the Black man took over it was 100 times worse . sorry if this is not PC but often the reality isnt .

 

What do you expect after centuries of colonialism decimated most of the valuables for the benefit of the Euro conquerors?  Archaeologists are rewriting a lot of pre-history in Africa (and S. America), finding cultures that were probably a lot more advanced than European cultures of their day.  Then came the colonial powers with their guns and their germs, wiping them out in the race for gold, silver, land and slaves.  So it was really 100x worse for the locals when the white guys took over.  In the long term, the countries will eventually be run to benefit the natives, and it is a shame that there will be so much suffering in the interim.

 

Is it any wonder that it took a despot like Mugabe (or name any one of a hundred other despots recently in the news and history books) to drive out their colonial masters?  Nice guys couldn't get the job done.

 

[Morch]

7 minutes ago, impulse said:

 

What do you expect after centuries of colonialism decimated most of the valuables for the benefit of the Euro conquerors?  Archaeologists are rewriting a lot of pre-history in Africa (and S. America), finding cultures that were probably a lot more advanced than European cultures of their day.  Then came the colonial powers with their guns and their germs, wiping them out in the race for gold, silver, land and slaves.  So it was really 100x worse for the locals when the white guys took over.  In the long term, the countries will eventually be run to benefit the natives, and it is a shame that there will be so much suffering in the interim.

 

Is it any wonder that it took a despot like Mugabe (or name any one of a hundred other despots recently in the news and history books) to drive out their colonial masters?  Nice guys couldn't get the job done.

 

 

Decimated how? It's not that Zimbabwe lacks resources. Were things vastly improved when them evil evil colonialists were thrown out by Mugabe? Don't think so. Was there actually a peaceful, utopian society in place prior to said evil colonialists showing up? Doubtful.

 

Kinda funny how such posts as above relegate locals into clueless, passive drones, not expected (or unable) to take charge of their own lives. There's not a shred of expectation that locals be in any way accountable, even after decades passed, to anything relating to their circumstances.

 

Self flagellation is a personal choice, each to his own. The trouble with the above is that it presumes to make it  a general sentiment, some sort of collective guilt trip all Westerners need to share. It also broadcasts that those who preach the creed, are somehow better, or absolved, by virtue of their "enlightened" view.

 

Mugabe is out. Hopefully the country could move on, and things improved some for the citizenship.

[Basil B]

5 hours ago, bert bloggs said:

I had a couple who were friends years ago in Britain ,they had lived and run a thriving business back there ,employed lots of local people , then Mugabe took over and white rule ended , obviously their business was lost they came to the UK and kept in contact with a couple of old employes , who were near starvation , no matter what we say about the white man taking over and robbing Africa , When the Black man took over it was 100 times worse . sorry if this is not PC but often the reality isnt .

I recall a guy arriving in the UK who owned a farm back in Zimbabwe, got out with only the clothes he was wearing his friend who owned a farm near by was not so lucky.

 

Not only that Mugabe's thugs then took over the farms and did not know how to work the land and millions starved. 

[bert bloggs]

19 hours ago, impulse said:

 

What do you expect after centuries of colonialism decimated most of the valuables for the benefit of the Euro conquerors?  Archaeologists are rewriting a lot of pre-history in Africa (and S. America), finding cultures that were probably a lot more advanced than European cultures of their day.  Then came the colonial powers with their guns and their germs, wiping them out in the race for gold, silver, land and slaves.  So it was really 100x worse for the locals when the white guys took over.  In the long term, the countries will eventually be run to benefit the natives, and it is a shame that there will be so much suffering in the interim.

 

Is it any wonder that it took a despot like Mugabe (or name any one of a hundred other despots recently in the news and history books) to drive out their colonial masters?  Nice guys couldn't get the job done.

 

Well the Chinese took over robbing the country ,dont see anyone having a go at them

[baboon]

19 hours ago, impulse said:

 

What do you expect after centuries of colonialism decimated most of the valuables for the benefit of the Euro conquerors?  Archaeologists are rewriting a lot of pre-history in Africa (and S. America), finding cultures that were probably a lot more advanced than European cultures of their day.  Then came the colonial powers with their guns and their germs, wiping them out in the race for gold, silver, land and slaves.  So it was really 100x worse for the locals when the white guys took over.  In the long term, the countries will eventually be run to benefit the natives, and it is a shame that there will be so much suffering in the interim.

 

Is it any wonder that it took a despot like Mugabe (or name any one of a hundred other despots recently in the news and history books) to drive out their colonial masters?  Nice guys couldn't get the job done.

 

"In the long term, the countries will eventually be run to benefit the natives, and it is a shame that there will be so much suffering in the interim."

 

Of course at that point they will be labelled as 'Global threats' and 'Sponsors of terrorism'. We know what comes next...