Fresh details have emerged on Former late President Robert Mugabe’s failed attempt to retain power during the height of the military coup that toppled him and led to the ascendence of Emmerson Mnangagwa to the presidency in November 2017.
Mugabe who died early this month at the age of 95, is reported to have tried to use underhand tactics to thwart the military coup by offering presidency to then CDF (Commander of Defence Forces) Constantino Chiwenga in a bid to put the military in a collision course with the African Union (AU) who are in strong opposition to Coup’s.
In an article published by iHarare last week on the shocking revelation that the former president had vouched for Chiwenga to succeed him in opposition to President Emmerson Mnangagwa, Chiwenga reportedly snubbed the offer in fear of his security, since such a move would be viewed betrayal and attract ire from military commanders.
According to the Zimbabwe Independent, a senior government official dismissed reports that the former army commander had turned down the offer out of fear but had been seen through Mugabe’s cunning plan to use him to prove to the world leaders and the African Union that it was indeed a military coup.
In a Twitter thread by Jamwanda, whom government officials have confirmed is an insider in the Office of the President and Cabinet, Mugabe had indeed offered Chiwenga to take over but without any good intention.
“The hope for (the) late (Mugabe) was that the AU, which by the way was still very confused by the whole situation and how to fit it within its theoretical taxonomy on coups, would then have no option, but to describe it as a coup, in which case calls for military intervention would then have credence. That was the spirit and calculation within which the offer was made.”
Officials said Mugabe made the move when he realised that the defence forces were no longer ready to protect him.
They said Mugabe was forced to write a resignation letter after the military had warned the strongman that he risked a Gadaffi-style lynching. Military bosses told him they would not turn their guns on citizens if they marched to his Blue Roof residence.
And at that instant Mugabe had two desires, to save his family and also to prove that the military had taken over power,” the official said.
“The then CDF and commanders correctly read (the) calculation. The emissary (Gono) of that desperate message was told through a powerful metaphor – that isu tiri vemakwapa-makwapa (we belong to the sect of camouflages, that is, the military); we are not politicians or (in) political competition,” the senior government official said.
.png "Learn More About Sona Solar Zimbabwe")
