Some observers think Mugabe’s overthrow by the Army might be a good thing for Zimbabwe. An Argentinean expert on Latin America’s bloody military dictatorships disagrees.
The coup in Zimbabwe means Mugabe’s long and disastrous presidency is finally over. The questions that remain are the precise details and mechanics of the deal which secures his departure.
Mugabe and his powerful wife have been overthrown in an apparent coup orchestrated by Zimbabwe’s vice president. Will the country transition into democracy or get strapped with yet another dictator?
President Robert Mugabe and his wife Grace have become increasingly divisive figures in Zimbabwe.
Reuters/Philimon Bulawayo
The protracted political crisis in Zimbabwe has worsened since President Mugabe fired vice president Emmerson Mnangagwa. Now the military has entered the fray, raising fears a coup is imminent.
An illegal money changer holds bond notes outside a bank in Zimbabwe’s capital Harare.
Reuters/Philimon Bulawayo
Years of political instability and economic mismanagement under the rule of ZANU-PF have left Zimbabwe’s financial system in chaos. The country is living on borrowed time and borrowed money.
Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe’s clampdown on dissent in Matabeleland claimed up to 20 000 lives.
EPA/Aaron Ufumeli/ Pool
The effects of President Mugabe’s post-independence security clampdown that led to the murder of between 10 000 and 20 000 Zimbabweans, known as the Matabeleland massacre, continue to be felt.
Without urgent, radical electoral reforms, next year’s poll will only serve to legitimise Robert Mugabe’s authoritarian rule.
GCIS
Zimbabwe’s ZANU PF sees itself as having brought democracy to the country and will not leave power. Unless civil society succeeds in pressing for change, the 2018 elections will bring none.
Happy at the helm: Robert and Grace Mugabe.
EPA/Aaron Ufumeli
Health care systems in many African countries are very poor. Instead of fixing them, many African leaders seek medical attention abroad incurring huge bills which are ultimately paid by taxpayers.
Zimbabwean first lady Grace Mugabe
has been granted immunity.
EPA/Khaled el-Fiqi
There is no basis in customary, conventional international law or domestic law for the spouse of a head of state to claim - as a right - some form of immunity when visiting a foreign state.
A woman votes in Zambia. Beyond multi-party systems and regular elections, many countries resemble very little of true democracies.
GovernmentZA/Flickr
Democracy is in a parlous state in many countries in southern Africa. Autocrats hold onto power, while electorates have little to choose from at the polls.
President Jacob Zuma, left, gets a courtesy visit from President of Namibia Hage Geingob in 2015 in Cape Town.
GCIS
South Africa’s ANC and Namibia’s SWAPO, governing parties, enter crucial leadership elections this year, with presidents Zuma and Geingob both facing challenges.
The militant talk and antics by the ANC’s ex-soldiers may seem like theatrics, but they are a chilling reminder of how Zimbabwe used armed militia to crash opponents and democracy.
Leo Zeilig’s latest novel is set in the Robert Mugabe-ruled Zimbabwe.
Philimon Bulawayo/Reuters
Leo Zeilig’s novel features a superbly crafted cast of characters. It’s a page turner for readers interested in the profound questions of radical politics and humanity.
Still going: Robert Mugabe celebrates yet another year.
EPA/Aaron Ufumeli
A Trump presidency brings into question America’s traditional approach to Africa, especially Rwanda. But a true shift in US foreign policy in Africa is not a priority for the Trump administration.
Presidents Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf, Muhammadu Buhari, Macky Sall and former Ghanian President John Mahama at a special meeting of Ecowas on The Gambia.
Reuters/Afolabi Sotunde
SADC’s credibility is at stake. Its lack of political will in acting decisively against despots is at odds with the African Union’s goal of promoting legitimate governance on the continent.