An Eventful Week in South Africa and the Region

SOUTH AFRICA - In Brief 20 Nov 2017 by Iraj Abedian

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This week is set to be a critical week for South Africa and the SADC (Southern African Development Community) region. Over the past few days, Zimbabwe has gone from a police-state dictatorship to a never-seen-before popular peaceful uprising, assisted by the national army, trying to push out Robert Mugabe who at the age of 94 believes he can still be the popular president that once a upon a time he was- that was in the 1980s! President Mugabe was dismissed by his own Zanu-PF party over the past weekend, and a number of his party allies were sacked from the Party too and a few even arrested by the army! To get him out as the country’s president is going to be somewhat more complicated. The fact is that the current situation in Zimbabwe has created a real governance paradox: Mugabe was democratically elected and his election was certified as ‘free and fair’, and yet he is bluntly and widely rejected by his nation and even by his own party now. This paradox may not be unique to Mugabe either. However, Mugabe is not known for giving up, and he quietly knows or believes that his SADC peers have his back. But a plan of action is currently hatched within Zimbabwe, and the Zimbabweans appeal to SADC and AU to stay out of their affairs. All considered, Mugabe may lose his presidency of Zimbabwe by this coming Friday. The question is whether he will uncharacteristically succumb to the force of logic or he will be removed via a blend of military and popular interventions. The latter has the potential of breaking into violent confrontations between the angry populace and some elements of security forces. The Zimbabweans across political spectrum, however, are very alert to the fac...