What Ugandans think about Mugabe’s resignation and what Zimbabweans know about it

Mugabe meets the Army Generals for negotation during the operation

 “My friend, what really happened to Mugabe?” asked one high ranking employee of NBS broadcasting services in Uganda, displaying much enthusiasm as soon as he saw me.

Weird and true as it maybe, the resignation of Zimbabwe’s long serving former president Robert Mugabe sent shock waves down the spine of every individual who knew about him, be they white, black or coloured.

While for some it was a relief, for some a shocking reality and for others a mission accomplished, for others it was very unsettling.

In some areas of Uganda, the story had far reaching effects and any friendly Zimbabwean on sight could immediately become a highly prized guest, just because the hosts would want to hear more about his whereabouts and his general health condition since he was known to be frequenting the Far East for his “routine check-ups”.

Talking to a few people in the City of Jinja, the former industrial hub of The Pearl of Africa – Uganda – I discovered that the greatest days of every vendor in Jinja Central Market, the biggest market in Central Africa with more than 10 000 vendors in it, were the days between 14 and 21 November 2017, just like how it was for every Zimbabwean back home.

November the 14^th 2017 was the day the Zimbabwean Army launched “Operation Restore Legacy”, a military operation that culminated in the resignation of Robert Mugabe on Tuesday the 21^st of November 2017, after ruling the country for 37 years since its independence from Britain on 18 April 1980!

“Most of these people in here had small radios which they kept to their ears throughout the days of the operation just not to miss any of it,” said a journalist who was guiding me as I toured the market.

“These people loved Mugabe and right now they wish you could sit down with them and tell them what exactly happened to him and where he is right now,” continued my journalistic friend.

“So where is he now; is he in jail in exile or what?” asked the high ranking employee as I got back to the studio after the market tour.

Everyone who I met seemed so curious to hear what had indeed happened to the former president as some of them thought that he had been jailed, some thought he had been exiled while some thought he had died soon after leaving the office.

Indeed, this was understandable for a once influential and long serving statesman whose departure from office was kind of unceremonious for a person of his magnitude.

In suspecting exile they had a point because soon after resigning on 11 August 2003, Charles Taylor, the former Liberian president had no option but to go on exile. Also, on 11 April 1979 they had witnessed their own Idi Amin Dada flee into exile, first to Libya then to Saudi Arabia where he remained till his death on 16 August 2003. In addition, on 16 May 1997, the former Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) president Mobutu Sese Seko had gone on exile, first to Togo and then to Morocco till his death on 7 September 1997. As if that was not enough, they had just recently witnessed the exiling of former Gambian President Yaya Jameya.

On assassination they also had a point of reference because on January 16, 2001 Laurent Kabila, the former president of the DRC had been assassinated by his own body-guard. Also, to their next door in Burundi, was Melchoir Ndadaye who in October 1993 was assassinated while in office following an unsuccessful coup. In addition, Ibrahim BareMainassara former president of Niger was assassinated by his own bodyguard in April 1999 while in office.

Also, on death by sickness they had more points of reference because former Zambian president Levy Mwanawasa had in August 2008 died of stroke while in office, Felix Houphouet-Boigny former president of Ivory Coast had in December 1993 died of prostate cancer, also, Muhamad Haji Ibrahim Egal former president of Somaliland had in May 2003 died while undergoing surgery in South Africa. Gnassigbe Eyadema former Togo president had in February 2005 died of heart attack, while being evacuated for treatment. Omar Bongo Ondimba, former president of Gabon had in June 2009 died of heart attack.

So if this is what had happened to other African presidents elsewhere then what had really happened to Mugabe and where was he? Some Ugandans wondered.

Added to that, they knew very well that in his latest days before Operation Restore Legacy, Mugabe had become a more of a guest in his country but almost a permanent resident of the Far East where he frequented for his “routine medical check-up”s.

However, as a Zimbabwean journalist and moreso a witness to most of the events of the operation, I had a different story to tell.

Former commander of the Defense Forces, Rtd. General Chiwenga

It was in the evening of 13 November when updates of a press conference being addressed by former army General Chiwenga went viral online. I almost did not believe that but in a few minutes, my former production manager at Radio Dialogue, Zenzele Ndebele also posted it, saying it was confirmed.

The speech was however not televised; at least live on Zimbabwe Television (ZTV) or Zimbabwe Broadcasting Corporation (ZBC). That is what had made me doubt the development because such high profile meetings were usually covered by ZBC.

Thereafter I became very curious about what exactly was going on. But all the same I was excited to see heads roll because I knew that that move set the stage for more drama.

“It is with humility and a heavy heart that we come before you to pronounce the indisputable reality that there is instability in Zanu-PF today and as a result anxiety in the country at large,” General Chiwenga, the army general by then had said as an opening remark to his speech.

General Chiwenga had continued: “We must remind those behind the current treacherous shenanigans that when it comes to matters of protecting our revolution, the military will not hesitate to step in.”  

“The current purging which is clearly targeting members of the party with liberation [war] backgrounds must stop forthwith. There is distress, trepidation and despondency within the nation,” he had said. 

I knew that if ever the government was not happy about what the army had done, it would respond. I was eagerly waiting for that response, and so was everyone else at the Media Centre.

Indeed the following day, on Monday the 13^th, state newspapers carried a story in which the government was condemning the military, accusing them of treason. The chief source quoted in the story was Kudzai Chipanga, the then Secretary of the ZANU-PF Youth League.

Mugabe and his wife Grace during his reign.

“We as Zanu PF Youth league are a lion which has awakened and found its voice, therefore we will not sit idly and fold our hands whilst cheap potshots and threats are made against Mugabe,” said the then secretary of the youth league Kudzai Chipanga in a press statement on the 14^th of November 2017, the day Operation Restore Legacy was launched.

He had further told the media that “defending the revolution and our leader and president is an ideal we live for and if need be it is a principle we are prepared to die for”.

“This is an assault on our freedom as we now have a new constitution which places soldiers in barracks and civilian authority in power … The guns will follow the politics and not the politics following the guns. Cde Chiwenga therefore cannot be allowed to dictate who will lead the Party and the Country,” he had added.

This had been in direct response to the statement of the army commander General Constantino Chiwenga who had called for an end to the purge of former liberation fighters in the party by people he described as counter-revolutionaries.

Former Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe

Only three days before I had been researching about this Chipanga character, wanting to understand who really he was, especially having realized that in the few days preceding that drama he had gained so much prominence in the country’s political arena.

The previous Monday, November the 6^th 2017, the current President of Zimbabwe, Emerson Dambudzo Mnangagwa, who was by then one of Zimbabwe’s two vice presidents had been sacked from his position as vice president and from the party. This had happened following a lot of ranting by the then First Lady, Mrs Grace Mugabe and even her husband both who at an interface rally in Bulawayo on the 3^rd of November 2017 had accused Mnangagwa of undermining them though to the knowledge of the public he had done nothing wrong against his party or boss to deserve such fast dismissal.

Grace Mugabe during a rally. Her political ambitions led to the downfall of her husband

What was at stake was that Mrs Mugabe was eyeing the position of the vice president and was therefore using her affiliations to the president and every moment to eliminate the likely opponents and poor Mnangagwa painted by her radar as the likely competitor was just one of the unlucky victims of her insatiable ambitions to rise to the presidium, even by unprocedural means, which the army quickly objected to, possibly hoping that someone in the party was going to be sane enough to heed its warnings.  

By the way, Mnangagwa was amongst the numerous people that had been up to that moment sacked by the party. These included former vice president Joice Mujuru, Didymus Mutasa, Rugare Gumbo among others. All these, including Mnangagwa and another decorated war veteran Jabulani Sibanda sacked earlier on were war veterans of the liberation struggle that freed the country from colonial rule in 1980.

Moving on, on the same day – the 14th, ZBC even televised the same reactionary speech by Chipanga where he was saying that as the youth they were ready to defend Mugabe’s life and that of Mrs Mugabe, even if it meant losing theirs in the process. Poor Chipanga, little did he know that he had struck a hornet’s nest.

I was seated at the Media Centre later that day, November the 14^th busy completing the requirements of the journey to this side when a friend of mine alerted me on the latest developments in Harare. I was in Bulawayo.

Army tanks on the streets of Harare during Operation Restore Legacy

He forwarded to me a short video clip which had been posted by Reuters, showing army tanks heading towards Harare CBD from the direction of the King George VI Military Baracks. I thought they were on a routine training mission but alas, hell had broken loose! The army was on its way to tackle the key points, that is ZBC Studios, Chihuri’s House, The Parliamentary Building, The State House, Mugabe’s House, Chikurubi Support Unit Amoury Depot amongst others.

The following day, the 15^th, I was woken up by a WhatsApp call by my friend Khumbulani Nkomo who was calling me, asking me what was going on because the army was on television, addressing the nation.

Retired Major General Sibusio Moyo, former army spokesperson

“It is not a military takeover of government,” Major General Sibusiso B. Moyo, the army spokesperson had said in a televised statement that morning.

“We wish to assure the nation that his Excellency the President… and his family are safe and sound and their security is guaranteed,” he had continued.

“We are only targeting criminals around him who are committing crimes… As soon as we have accomplished our mission we expect that the situation will return to normalcy,” he had added.

From that moment onwards, Mugabe who more often had appeared on television had momentarily disappeared until he was seen again at the Zimbabwe Open University graduation ceremony that Saturday the 18^th and again on Sunday the 19^th, where after reading a speech on television he had said “Asante Sana” a Swahili way of saying “I thank you”. The “Asante Sana” is today famous amongst Zimbabweans and to my realization, across Africa.

On both occasions, though struggling to compose himself he looked free.

Also before that, Mugabe had been called by the then South African President Jacob Zuma who later reported that Mugabe had “indicated that he was confined to his home but said that he was fine”.

Indeed, this statement showed that except keeping him under house arrest, the army had kept to their word of not harming him. Infact, he was still president of Zimbabwe and the Chief Army commander and therefore on each occasion, the security generals continued to salute him.

Zimbabweans celebrate the fall of Mugabe on 21 November

On 21^st November 2017, the news I had been waiting for had found me preparing my supper at my quarters in Malindela, Bulawayo. Mugabe had finally resigned.

And finally, the answers to your questions:

1. 1.     What happened to Mugabe? He resigned on 21 Novemder 2017 after a military operation called “Operation Restore Legacy” which ran from 14 November to 18 December 2018
2. 2.     Is he on exile? No, he is there in Zimbabwe.
3. 3.     Is he under arrest there in Zimbabwe? No, he is a free person like any free Zimbabwean.
4. 4.     Can he freely drive and walk the streets like anyone else? Yes, he can if he so wishes. Recently he even flew to his favourite Malaysia with his family.
5. 5.     Did the army manhandle him? No, the army never laid a hand on him. Infact, the former Army General Chiwenga seemed to respect him very much because he and all his liteunants never ceased to salute him each time they visited him.
6. 6.     Was his property taken away? No, he retains everything, including a farm here in Uganda. He actually continues to receive his full salary till his term of office officially expires later this year.
7. 7.     Does he still have security? Obviously yes, like any other former head of state elsewhere.
8. 8.     Do Zimbabweans miss his rule? It is 50:50, it depends on what the person admired or disliked about him. This is because in as much as he like any other person had weaknesses, he had certain strengths as well. But one thing for sure, he is a person who always spoke his mind. Many Zimbabweans actually take after that today. And the people who will never forget him are the likes of Tony Blair and George Bush, and others with imperialistic tendencies. Those he never tolerated.
9. 9.     Do you hate him you yourself? No, him as a person I have nothing against. Infact I have forgiven him on everything bad that he indirectly did unto me. But I hated his rule so much. It impoverished a lot of people and turned Zimbabwe into nothing. If you remember very well, we actually used to be called the “Jewel of Africa” just like Uganda being called “The Pearl of Africa” or Kenya being called “The Pride of Africa”. His government created a very few jobs that of course were given on partisan basis and therefore saw a lot of people both from Mashonaland and Matebeleland migrate to the diaspora where they suffered so much. Remember the Xenophobia in South Africa and the 15 women who were retrieved from Kuwait in 2015, having been turned into sex slaves there when they had left Zimbabwe after being promised nursing jobs in that country? All that was because of the desperacy that his rule instigated amongst the general populace. He even created unending ethnic hatred between the Shona and the Ndebele. Of course it was always there but it was heightened by his Gukurahundi when in 1983 he unleashed on Matebeleland and Midlands provinces a specially North Korean trained military unit called The Fifth Brigade to hunt down and kill the so-called dissidents who were in all respects former members of the Zimbabwe People’ Revolutionary Army (ZIPRA) the military wing of Zimbabwe African People’s Union (ZAPU) who had disserted with their weapons citing disgruntlement of Mugabe’s rule. During this 1983 – 1987 period which has become known as Gukurahundi in Zimbabwe and the world at large, at least 20 000 innocent civilians from Matebeleland and Midlands provinces are said to have lost their lives. Most of these victims were supporters of PF-ZAPU (formerly ZAPU), the party led by the late Father Zimbabwe Joshua Nkomo who were accused of habouring the so-called dissidents and then massacred and thrown into disused mine shafts like one at Bhalagwe Hill in Matobo District in Matebeleland South province. But above all, his rule taught me never to depend on him or his government for anything except documents and travelling permissions. This is because for a long time, I longed for government intervention to finish up my education since I was an academically gifted student but none of it came until I resorted to doing menial jobs in Botswana to raise money to pay for my fees, as early as my third year at secondary school up to the point I finished my Masters Degree. It is therefore due to the hardships that his 37 yearlong rule subjected me to that I have excelled this much in life because I learned how to positively deal with those hardships.

Watch out for another related article in a few days. Stay tuned. This your blog, the blog of the people, which brings issues as real as they are to you, as seen from the perspective of a Geographer-Historian-Explorer-Journalist.

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