The besieged president of Zimbabwe is now gripped by fears of a coup. Amid growing social unrest Mugabe claimed last Friday that there was ‘an insidious dimension where ambitious leaders have been cutting deals with the British and Americans.’ He launched a veiled attack on some senior party leaders in his own Zanu-PF party and accused them of scheming to overthrow him.
The immediate cause of Mugabe’s suspicion was the meetings of Solomon Mujuru, husband of Ms Joice the vice president in his government, with foreign ambassadors. Solomon had met the British, French and US ambassadors. Solomon Mujuru is a former head of Zimbabwe’s army. He is believed to have embarked on a charm offensive among foreign ambassadors in Harare, irritating Mugabe. The armed forces are believed to be still loyal to the retired General Mujuru, whose contacts with foreign diplomats signify his ambition.
Mugabe attacked the ‘monkey games’ he alleged the foreign diplomats were playing in support of the opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC), and threatened to expel them.
The free fall of economy is frightening. People in Harare awoke Saturday to find that the price of petrol had risen overnight to Z$15,000 (US $62) from Z$9,000 (US $37) to a litre, as traders began doubting that the local dollar might be worth nothing at all if civil order broke down. With a spiraling inflation, officially up to 1,729% last month, there are plentiful reasons for the government as well as the traders to be nervous.
A man in Harare said ‘prices go up every day and people cannot buy bread. People say nothing will get better until Mugabe goes. Nobody supports him. Nobody. I don’t know what is going to happen. It feels like things are going to explode.’
In the event of real trouble, which the seniors in Mugabe’s government think is not far, the main job of the police will be to stop angry mobs entering the presidential palace and the luxurious homes of the Zanu-PF party elite.
In the meanwhile, undeclared emergency laws have been imposed by the president. Government gunmen roam the streets and prevent any gatherings, even those of three or four persons. Mugabe has told the opposition leaders ‘go hang, and has said ‘the police will hit harder.’
The body of the opposition activist Gift Tandare was seized by the gunmen yesterday to prevent the burial from becoming a focal point for the opposition. People attending the funeral were beaten indiscriminately and Tandare’s body, still in its coffin, was taken away by them. Tandare was shot dead by the police at the prayer rally last Sunday where Morgan Tsvangirai and others from the Movement for Democratic Change were arrested and later severely beaten.
Tsvangirai, with five stitches to a head injury and a broken arm, is still resting at home, said his party officials. Zimbabwean police had stopped yesterday two opposition leaders from flying to South Africa for medical treatment for injuries in the same beatings as Mr Tsvangirai, their lawyer said.
The 14-nation Southern African Development Community will have a special meeting on the escalating Zimbabwean crisis in Dar-es-Salaam on 25-26 March. Pressure on the Mugabe government, both from within Zimbabwe and from international circles, is mounting. The British government this weekend had called for a briefing on the humanitarian crisis in Zimbabwe in the UN Security Council.
