Zimbabwe’s late former leader, Robert Mugabe will always be of interest to many, even from his grave.
I am saying this because he actually said it at some point, that he will rule Zimbabwe from six feet under. Funny though how he was so drunk on power that he failed to smell the coffee way back in 2017 when the coup to oust him was already in motion.
Former Central Intelligence Organisation (CIO) Director, Happyton Bonyongwe last Friday launched his book titled ‘One Among Many – My contribution to the Zimbabwean story’ where he chronicles events before, during and after the coup which led to Mugabe’s ouster.
Of course many of the details revealed were already in the public domain but the autobiography gives a fresh and interesting perspective about the coup and the former leader.
Bonyongwe reveals that he and the former first lady, Grace Mugabe had on numerous occasions tried to persuade Mugabe to deal with the succession issue before it exploded in his face but failed as he (Mugabe) did not give it the attention it deserved.
In the end, Mugabe’s stubbornness and lack of wisdom with regards to the matter led to his embarrassing downfall.
Perhaps it explains why he was in denial until the very last minute that his comrades had indeed plotted his downfall.
In the book, it is revealed that even when told that tables had turned and that his then close allies, President Emmerson Mnangagwa and Vice President Constatino Chiwenga were behind the coup, he initially dismissed the information as false.
Another interesting revelation is that despite being a dictator, Mugabe actually feared the masses, as evidenced by a frantic call he made to Chiwenga, who was then the army general, to stop people from marching into the State House.
Remember that during the coup days, a march was organised to force Mugabe to resign and his worst fear was that people would subject him to ‘mob justice’.
Meanwhile, there has been an interesting change of power in the war veterans’ leadership, with Mnangagwa’s allies losing all key positions.
Former leader, Christopher Mutsvangwa , who had been at the helm for the past 11 years, was heavily defeated by a massive 283 votes, with many saying this marks the beginning of the end of his political career.
War veterans are an important constituency in Zanu PF politics and the defeat of vocal Mutsvangwa, who by the way get’s slammed in Bonyongwe’s book, is seen as a sign that its members are not happy with him and his close comrade, the President.
Mnangagwa is reportedly pushing to extend his rule by another term, but allies of Vice President, Constantino Chiwenga, who is tipped to take over, are having none of that.
And with his people now calling the shots within the war veterans association, it will be interesting to see how events unfold in the coming months.
