Zimbabwe : A country in the belly of the Crocodile

Zimbabwe's former president, Robert Mugabe, 95, is not unaware that his days are numbered on this side of the Great Divide. This probably explains why he recently told his family that he would not want his successor, Emmerson Mnangagwa, to be at his funeral.

Robert Mugabe

It is strange that a man who ruled and ruined his country still feels bad about being removed from power after 37 years of inexcusable tyranny. The old tyrant says he does not want to be associated with Mnangagwa and all those he now views as his betrayers and tormentors. It is sad that this old man believes he should have been left in power to continue his demolition job.

Disgraceful as it is, this is the mentality of most African leaders. After nearly four decades in office Mugabe was still not prepared to leave. It would be recalled that Mugabe's maladministration led to the second-worst hyperinflation in history.






However, while castigating Mugabe for his demented views, what are we to say about the man who succeeded him with all fanfare two years ago. Mnangagwa ascended the 'throne' promising heaven on earth for his beleaguered compatriots. Now, for most Zimbabweans, hope has again turned into despair.

No one was expecting the former British colony to become a paradise after two years of Mnangagwa's rule. However, to discover that there are no drugs in the hospitals, no water and no electricity most of the time is a confirmation that the man nicknamed the Crocodile is only too happy to continue in the cursed footsteps of his despised mentor.



Mnangagwa has not covered himself in glory as inflation is rocketing again, estimated to be running at 500 per cent annually. Critics are charged with sedition, activists tortured and demonstrations over a deteriorating economy are met with brutal force by baton-wielding security agents.




Again, was it really realistic to have expected something different from the Crocodile whose hands have been stained in blood as Mugabe’s former enforcer. No one should forget that Mnangagwa, 76, was personally trained by the former president and was by his side for over fifty years. This was a man who gave orders for the shooting of citizens when an election result was delayed amid claims of fraud and voter intimidation.