Zimbabwean opposition leaders, activists and supporters are no doubt pretty jealous of Zambians at the moment.
They so wish that the change of power taking place in the neighbouring country could also happen to us.
Zanu PF has been in power for the last 41 years and we only know two leaders, the late Robert Mugabe and the current President, Emmerson Mnangagwa. Yet Zambia has had at least six leaders in my lifetime!
That country may be having its share of economic challenges but at least it has men who are bold enough to concede defeat and move on, unlike here in Zimbabwe where our leaders cling onto power at all costs.
Remember how the late Mugabe refused to step down after clearly losing to his rival, the late Morgan Tsvangirai and how he instead struck a deal for an inclusive government so he remains in power.
It took a military coup for the man to be removed from office; otherwise he would have died in power.
And that culture of holding on appears to have be deeply entrenched as President Mnangagwa seemingly lost to opposition leader Nelson Chamisa in the 2019 general elections but refused to be man enough to accept the will of the people.
Zambia’s immediate past President, Edgar Lungu also attempted to go that route as he wanted to nullify the results arguing the elections had been rigged.
But after realising that he had clearly lost, he conceded defeat and congratulated his rival, the President elect, Hakainde Hichilema.
With Zimbabwe preparing for its next election in 2023, fingers are crossed in the opposition circles that maybe the winds of change that swept through Zambia will also blow here.
“I honour the magnanimous leadership of President elect Hichilema and the humility of Edgar Lungu in conceding defeat. I salute the Zambian army, police, intel and the electoral commission for the exemplary professionalism and independence. Africa leads! Zimbabwe you are next,” tweeted Chamisa on Monday.
Joining in, exiled former cabinet minister, Professor Jonathan Moyo humorously tweeted, “After Malawi did it in 2020, Zambia did it in 2021, let Zimbabwe did it in 2023.”
In other news, yet another luxurious and pricey Rolls Royce worth more than P5 million has landed in Harare.
One of President Mnangagwa’s twin sons, Sean was seen driving the top-of-the-range vehicle on Sunday and immediately set tongues wagging with many wondering about his source of income as he is just a soldier with no other business interests worth talking about.
Your guess is as good as mine as to where he could be getting the money to finance his lavish lifestyle.
