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Crunch time for Mugabe

by Staff reporter
23 Oct 2014 at 10:22hrs | Views
President Robert Mugabe returned from his Rome vacation yesterday amid an unusually tight security at Harare International Airport and also under pressure to deal with the boiling cauldron that Zanu-PF politics has become over the past few weeks ever since his wife launched her vitriolic attacks on Vice President Joice Mujuru.

In addition to the extra-tight security that was visibly evident at the airport for his arrival, the nonagenarian also surprisingly dispensed with his normal practice of addressing Zanu-PF supporters every time he comes back from a foreign trip, much to the disappointment of his followers.

Accompanied by the First Lady, Mugabe was welcomed by Mujuru, as well as a large contingent of Cabinet ministers, politburo members, the Zanu-PF Harare leadership, service chiefs and senior government officials who had woken up early to receive him.

He was whisked away by aides and heavily armed security agents a short while after he had disembarked from the Air Zimbabwe plane, that he had commandeered for his trip to the Vatican, as soon as he had dispensed with the handshaking formalities, much to the disappointment of gathered private media journalists who were not allowed to cover the occasion.

And as was the embarrassing case on the outward journey, Grace reportedly petulantly declined to avail herself for a handshake with the seemingly composed Mujuru. The vice president has been the object of Grace's diatribes over the past few weeks as the First Lady went around the country for her "Meet the People" tours.

"They did not shake hands, they just passed each other as if they were strangers. The president did not talk about the politics of the party but only spoke about his visit to Italy," a senior Zanu-PF official who asked not to be named confirmed.

And demonstrating that the couple's visit to the Vatican, for the beatification of Pope Paul VI, had done little to thaw strained relations between Grace and Mujuru, the mood at the airport was tense.

Several MPs, notably youth deputy national chairperson Kudzai Chipanga and Harare South legislator Shadreck Mashayamombe were also turned away from receiving the 90-year-old strongman, and could only watch from a distance as Mugabe zoomed away in his long motorcade.

Zanu-PF supporters, who of late have been descending at the Harare International Airport to demonstrate their loyalty to the president had to settle for the privilege of lining the road to wave their clenched fist at Mugabe's motorcade.

However, the heavy presence of police raised eyebrows among supporters and observers alike, amid apparent misgivings that warring Zanu-PF factions could take their fights even to the Harare International Airport.

There were hordes of police officers, some in anti-riot gear, who were at the airport to maintain peace and order.

In that light, there was no singing, dancing and certainly no love lost between the rival factions at the airport who were kept away from each other by police.

In savaging Mujuru, Grace has caused consternation among supporters of the VP who believe that the First Lady is being abused by a particular faction in Zanu-PF.

Although Justice minister Emmerson Mnangagwa and Mujuru are seen as the frontrunners to succeed Mugabe, the recent and unexpected entrance into the political fray by Grace has muddied the waters.

In the meantime, this week promises to be one of the biggest and most daunting in Mugabe's long political career as he battles to manage the massive fallout in Zanu-PF resulting from his wife's reckless and relentless assaults of the past few weeks on the First Family's perceived enemies inside the ruling party.

The 90-year-old leader will chair key Cabinet and politburo meetings today and tomorrow, which are taking place in the wake of unprecedented post-independence infighting within Zanu-PF, emanating from escalating factional and succession wars that have been ventilated by the first lady's entry into formal politics and her ill-advised recent utterances on Mujuru.

The key meetings, that are normally held on Tuesdays and Wednesdays respectively, were postponed to today and tomorrow to accommodate Mugabe's Rome sojourn.

So high are the stakes that one senior Zanu-PF official described the Thursday politburo meeting, in particular, in an interview with the Daily News's sister newspaper, the Daily News on Sunday, as "vitally important ... (in) a make-or-break week not just for the party, but for Mugabe himself as well".

The official, who is also a Cabinet minister, said Grace Mugabe's behaviour and utterances in her "Meet the People" rallies were "shocking and unprecedented, which is why the Cabinet and politburo meetings will not be easy for the president this week".

"It is an understatement to say that tension is sky high within the party at the moment. In fact, I've never experienced such palpable tension in our party like we are witnessing at the moment since we returned from the war in 1980.

"In my humble view, this is a make-or-break week not just for the party, but for president Mugabe himself as well, as he has to try and manage this unprecedented tension in which his wife, the first lady, has played a key negative role.

"The president is, fortunately or unfortunately, the only person who can calm the waters a bit depending on what he does this week, and I pray that he will find Solomonic wisdom to deal with the ugliness that now pervades all party structures," the official, who requested anonymity, said.

He added that the recent intra-party ructions did not have to be officially on the politburo agenda, "they would naturally be at the back of everything that would be said and done in the party" from now onwards.

"Look, what has happened is big and cannot be wished away.

"Unfortunately, it unwittingly places the president right in the middle of everything as his wife is at the centre of the current tension," he said.

Another official said Grace had started "a fire that cannot be easily extinguished".

"These are desperate times in our party and I do feel for the president as he is in a difficult position. If the party leadership does not deal with this matter carefully, I fear for the worst for our movement.

"Another thing that the first lady may not have taken into consideration in her offensive is that if she formally becomes leader of the Women's League, she may soon have to work under some of the very same people that she is attacking in public now. Has she thought about how this will pan out?" he asked.

Analyst Shepherd Mntungwa wondered whether the events of the past few weeks marked "the beginning of the end for Mugabe".

"While it is true that Zanu-PF has experienced many serious challenges before, we have never witnessed events as dramatic and as potentially history-changing as those of the past few weeks.

"What makes things so complicated is that his own wife is now at the centre of the factionalism and anarchy.

"This is why I'm firmly of the belief that this week could even mark the beginning of the end of Mugabe and his long rule as he may battle to reinvent himself as demanded by the situation, remembering that he is no spring chicken anymore and the fact that his wife is now evidently wielding enormous influence in his decision making," Mntungwa said.

Source - dailynews