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NY Times, Nov. 25 2017
Zimbabwe’s New Leader Stirs Fears That He Resembles the Old One
By NORIMITSU ONISHI and JEFFREY MOYO
HARARE, Zimbabwe — When Robert Mugabe stepped down as president this
week, Mevion Gambiza, 28, quickly joined the throng of people
celebrating the sudden end of his 37-year rule. Mr. Gambiza jumped on
the roof of a taxi and rode around as the driver honked through the
streets of the capital.
But by Friday morning, Mr. Gambiza, like many other Zimbabweans, had
sobered up. By the time he came to the National Sport Stadium to watch
the swearing-in of the new president — Emmerson Mnangagwa, Mr. Mugabe’s
longtime right-hand man — it was more to witness history than from any
enthusiasm.
“Nothing will change; poverty and suffering will continue,” said Mr.
Gambiza, a graduate of the University of Zimbabwe. The only difference
now, he said, was that one faction of the governing party had
“outcompeted its rival, and now Mnangagwa’s bootlickers will have their
full turn to loot from the state coffers.”
Mr. Mnangagwa, who fled into a brief exile after losing a power struggle
less than three weeks ago, became Zimbabwe’s new president on Friday,
succeeding Mr. Mugabe, 93, the leader he had backed for decades before
helping to oust him last week.
It was a rapid reversal of fortunes that abruptly ended Mr. Mugabe’s
rule — one of the longest reigns in Africa’s post-colonial history — and
set off a complex mix of exhilaration, hope and deep skepticism among
Zimbabweans.
In his address, Mr. Mnangagwa (pronounced muh-nahn-GAHG-wah) said that
the country’s domestic politics had “become poisoned and rancorous and
polarizing,” apparently referring to the factional fighting inside the
governing party, ZANU-PF.
“We should never remain hostages of our past,” Mr. Mnangagwa said,
adding that his compatriots should “let bygones be bygones, readily
embracing each other in defining a new destiny in our beloved Zimbabwe.”
The tens of thousands present in the stadium — most of them ZANU-PF
die-hards who had been bused into the capital, Harare, from distant
towns and villages in the party’s rural strongholds — loudly cheered Mr.
Mnangagwa and hailed him as a “hero” and “liberator.”
Emerson Zinyera, 54, a retired police officer, said: “Today is true
independence day. The one that was there was false. Today is
independence that everyone, every Zimbabwean, can enjoy, not
independence enjoyed by two people, Mugabe and his wife, Grace.”
But even as Mr. Mnangagwa promised a new era of democracy, the new
leader, who was long known as Mr. Mugabe’s ruthless enforcer, faced a
far more doubtful nation.
As the euphoria over the end of the Mugabe era began to subside, many
opposition politicians, rights activists, ordinary citizens and even
some party members were expressing concerns about entrusting a new
Zimbabwe to a leader so closely tied to the old.
“This is a happy day,” said Virginia Kamoto, 34, a ZANU-PF member who
was bused in with other supporters from southern Zimbabwe. “I was
personally tired of Mugabe, who had stayed for far too long in power. I
hope President Mnangagwa will not overstay in power. I hope he will not
repress the people or tolerate corruption so that our country will be
counted among the great nations of the world.”
Mr. Mnangagwa’s exact role in the military intervention that led to Mr.
Mugabe’s downfall is not yet known. But on Wednesday, just hours after
returning to Zimbabwe from South Africa, Mr. Mnangagwa thanked the
generals who had backed him, saying he had been “in constant contact
with the service chiefs throughout” the recent events.
The victory of Mr. Mnangagwa and the military — over a ZANU-PF faction
led by Mr. Mugabe’s 52-year-old wife, Grace, and younger politicians
with no experience in the nation’s war of liberation — underscored the
old guard’s enduring grip on power, not only in Zimbabwe but also in
nations like Angola, Mozambique, Namibia and South Africa.
In all those countries, former liberation movements have held
uninterrupted power over decades through a combination of patronage,
coercion and, in some cases, outright military force.
In his 37-minute speech, Mr. Mnangagwa emphasized rebuilding the
country’s economy by, in part, re-engaging with Western nations that cut
off most ties with Zimbabwe after the seizure of white-owned farms
starting in 2000. Mr. Mnangagwa said that compensation would be offered
to those who had lost their properties, signaling his commitment to a
process that had begun fitfully in recent years.
Mr. Mnangagwa reached out to rivals, though only in gener
