Mugabe gone?

[Craig]

Mugabe opponents 'have slight lead

Will believe it when it happens though as it will be a tough ask for you ever is in charge, in dropping inflation (at 100,000%) and actually having an economy. Although I don't know if the opposition leader is corrupt or not, either way I don't think it could be any worse then what it is now.

[sirdj]

Do you think Mugabe is going to go away quietly??

[Chubb]

I don't think there is any doubt that the MDC have won the election, and probably with more than 50% of the vote. If it was actually very close, Mugabe would have declared himself the winner by now. The likelihood is that the victory was sufficiently large to make it impossible for Mugabe to claim to be the winner. I want the day of change to come to Zimbabwe and that day may just be dawning. there have been many wild rumours about what is going on, and I am not in a position to comment on them.

I believe that Mr. Tsvangirai is a decent man who will work to the best of his ability to recover the situation in Zimbabwe. he comes from a trade union background and has a history of opposing human rights violations as far back as independence. I just hope that my faith in him and the MDC is not proved wrong. When it comes to helping rebuild the country, the international community must be involved. In addition to that, it is very probable that large numbers of Zimbabwean exiles, even many of the whites, will return. These people will be the ones who rebuild the economy. I want to help it happen too. Zimbabwe has so many well-wishers across the world that I honestly believe it can still recover with a change of government, provided that government proves itself worthy.

[GIMH]

I never thought this would happen. Am shocked. really hope things do change for the better

[Manee]

Probably off topic, but how did Mugabe get to power. Does he have a support group or did he come to power by lying about his racial policies and hiding his economic deficiencies.

[Richard]

Mugabe only become a seriously awful President in about 1997 or 1998. For the previous (2 decades? Non-UK political history not my strongpoint) he did a pretty reasonable job, though there were IIRR a few doubts about one or two elections.

Chubbmeister would presumably know more here too of course.

The main reason he's retained power for the last 10 years or so of course is his "brothers in Africa", including South Africa's Thabo Mbeki.

[TT Boy]

Originally Posted by Manee

Probably off topic, but how did Mugabe get to power. Does he have a support group or did he come to power by lying about his racial policies and hiding his economic deficiencies.

Through being a revolutionary freedom fighter in the face of Zimbabwe’s white supremacist government. Mugabe was once the darling of socialists the world over and almost comparable to Nelson Mandela, his ascent into power was one of the seemingly best things ever to happen to Africa. Even Stevie Wonder mentioned how brilliant it was in one of his songs.

[Richard]

Indeed. Used to hear that song on the radio most weeks, and had never given the meaning of that line the slightest of consideration before.

[Manee]

Oh, interesting. Thanks for the information.

[Goughy]

The next government will be corrupt but this is Africa and its all relative.

Would seriously consider moving there and bringing up my family in the post-Mugabe Zim.

There is a massive skills shortage (as well as everything else) and there is such potential to build and make progress.

[Goughy]

Originally Posted by Richard

Mugabe only become a seriously awful President in about 1997 or 1998. For the previous (2 decades? Non-UK political history not my strongpoint) he did a pretty reasonable job, though there were IIRR a few doubts about one or two elections.

Chubbmeister would presumably know more here too of course.

The main reason he's retained power for the last 10 years or so of course is his "brothers in Africa", including South Africa's Thabo Mbeki.

Its nothing to be embarrassed about (as few know) but I assume things like the 5th Brigade mean nothing to you?

Mugabe was terrible from the start and got worse. It just took him a time to completely run the economy down. By the time of the farm confiscations he was already desperate and that was a political move to deflect attention away from his failings.

[Chubb]

The main feature of the early part of Mugabe's leadership was his destruction of the Matabele faction of the independence movement. The resistance to Rhodesia was always divided on ethnic lines- Mugabe led the Shona and Joshua Nkomo the Matabele. The majority of the population of Zimbabwe are Shona. When Mugabe became Prime Minister under Canaan Banana he systematically destroyed Nkomo's faction, forcing it to merge with his own ZANU party. He then authorised a programme of repression in Matabeleland, called the Gukurahundi, perpertrated by a communist-trained brigade of Shona military (the Fifth Brigade as Goughy says). These killings were exposed at the time in the world press (see the book "Mukiwa" by Peter Godwin and others, even Wilbur Smith), but became forgotten as Zimbabwe became something of a paragon of a successful African nation.

He did some seriously bad stuff in the 80s, but from about 1987-1998 he was a relatively benign despot, and there is little doubt that the majority of the nation supported him then, for good or ill.

[Richard]

Nah, had never heard any of the above before - as I say, overseas political history not my strongpoint.

[ripper868]

just heard he lost majority of parliament...just a matter of whether he will hand over or not...

[Craig]

Didn't he say he would?