CURRENT HISTORY May 2018 "Zimbabwe's politics continues to be driven by a generation that defines itself in terms of its contribution to the liberation war and remains committed to defending that legacy." The End of the Mugabe Era in Zimbabwe SARA RICH DORMAN n1980, Robert Mugabe and his Zimbabwe Af- vinced international observers that no interven- rican National Union (ZANU) party came to tion was called for and that the transition had a Ipower after a bitter liberation war against the constitutional basis. Although Western leaders Rhodesian white settler regime. In the years that were happy to see him go, Mugabe still had sup- followed, they undertook a process of nation- and port among African leaders who venerated his role state-building that was intended to institutionalize in bringing Zimbabwe to independence. Despite the party's control of the political sphere and en- the army's presence on the streets and Mugabes sure its monopoly on political representation in in- evident unwillingness to resign, the eventual trans- dependent Zimbabwe. The country initially pros- fer of power was accepted as a civilian-led process pered under Mugabe, with particular successes in and rapidly legitimized through the courts. education and health care, but in recent decades The coup was not intended to change Zimba- the economy had faltered as his rule became in- bwe's political trajectory-the plan was to bring it creasingly personalized and autocratic. In Novem- back on course. Calling its intervention "Operation ber 2017, Mugabe was dramatically toppled from Restore Legacy," the military effectively played the power by the army, acting in the name of his party. nationalist card, signaling its loyalty to the ethos Although the 94-year-old Mugabe is now distant of the liberation war and reminding citizens of its from the corridors of power, the edifice he con- own contributions to the making of the nation. structed still stands, with many of the same players This virtue Signaling was aimed partly at the in- in control, driving forward the same agenda. ternational audience; it was also meant for Zimba- For many Zimbabweans, the generals' seizure of bweans, many of whom had never known another power, followed by the inauguration of former Vice leader. While desperate for political change, they President Emmerson Mnangagwa as president, was still wanted to see their longtime president treated a welcome relief after months of renewed politi- with dignity. cal and economic instability. For others, Mugabes removal itself was a cause for celebration, accom- SUCCESSION STRUGGLE plishing what years of political protest and elector- The unexpected military intervention was the al challenges had failed to do. But it seems unlikely result of Mugabe's refusal to name a successor, his that Zimbabwe's politics will change very much. wife Grace's increasingly unsubtle grab for power, November's relatively bloodless coup was care- and the reemergence of money shortages and ris- fully stage-managed to ensure that the head of ing food prices in a return to the hyperinflation state's replacement appeared legitimate, while also of the late 2000s. No one thought Mugabe would resolving the increasingly fragile situation in the retire or hand over power willingly, but his linger- country. In this, the army was successful: it con- ing in office into extreme old age risked creating a power vacuum, or, perhaps worse, allowing his much younger wife to construct her own power SARA RICH DORMAN is a senior lecturer at the University oj base. She had made good progress on this proj- Edinburgh. Her latest book is Understanding Zimbabwe: ect in recent months as she maneuvered for the From Liberation to Authoritarianism (OxJord University Press, 2016). vice presidency. In early November, the ouster of 163 164 • CURRENT HISTORY • May 2018 Vice President Mnangagwa-the one stalwart relic Mugabe's own fighting credentials, saying to jour- from Mugabe's first postindependence cabinet- nalists: "The closest he ever got to the war was signaled Grace's rising influence. It was a step too 200 kilometers away. He had nothing but flowery far for many. By condemning Mnangagwa's ouster speeches to give anyone as leader of the party. So and calling for Mugabe to go, Zimbabwe's generals this mantle of heroism is nonsense. He doesn't de- staked their claim to power, refusing to let Grace's serve it. And we are saying it as war veterans." so-called Generation 40 leap over them. Mugabe's role in the struggle had always been The succession struggle was generational rather more political than military. He was a political than ideological. It had been going on for years. prisoner in Rhodesia between 1964 and 1974, but By the late 2000s, the front-runners to succeed upon release spent little time in the ZA U military Mugabe were Solomon Mujuru (also known by his wing's camps in Mozambique. Since 2000, howev- nom de guerre, Rex Nhongo) and his wife Joice, er, his political rhetoric had become increasingly both prominent veterans of the liberation war. militarized. Once known for dressing in dapper Solomon was a long-serving army general who re- suits and ties, in recent years he had often worn tired to go into business. At the time of his death military-style dress and party regalia. in 2011, in a suspicious fire, he had amassed sub- Following Mnangagwa's removal on November stantial landholdings and investments. Joice, who 6 before a key party congress that was supposed to served as vice president from 2004 to 2014, was in anoint Mugabe's successor, a group of army gener- line to succeed Mugabe until she was purged and als led by the Defense Forces commander, General replaced by Mnangagwa. Constantino Chiwenga, held an unprecedented Mnangagwa, 75, is also a senior liberation war press conference and spoke of a "revolution be- veteran who served in a range of heavyweight ing hijacked by agents of our erstwhile enemies roles in Mugabe's cabinets. who are now at the brink Seen as more of an enforcer of returning our country to than a political leader, he had The military's incursion into foreign domination against effectively used his influence which so many of our people Zimbabwe's high-stakes politics in the intelligence agency perished." and the military to develop sets a worrying precedent. Rumors swirled that the significant business interests. army was mobilizing, but it He led the "Lacoste" faction was unclear to most observ- of the party-a name recalling his liberation war ers what, if anything, was happening until early exploits, which had earned him the nickname "the in the morning of ovember 15, when the mil- Crocodile. " itary set out its demands on the national televi- Grace Mugabe, by contrast, had allied herself sion channel. General S. B. Moyo emphasized that with a younger cohort of politicians called Gen- Mugabe was safe, saying, "We are only targeting eration 40, or G40, because of their relative youth. criminals around him who are cOJIlmitting crimes For the most part they were not liberation war vet- that are causing social and economic suffering in erans. Once the Mujurus were both out of the pic- the country, in order to bring them to justice." He ture, the bipolar nature of the succession dispute then called on various social groups to remain generated centrifugal forces as the rivalry between calm and carryon as normal, concluding by ask- Grace and Mnangagwa became more and more ing churches "to pray for our country and preach bitter. But Mnangagwa's support from within the the gospel oflove, peace, unity, and development." army served him well. Mugabe was put under house arrest and pres- Unwilling to be pushed aside by Grace, whose sured to resign. He resisted, making a rambling security-sector supporters were mainly in the po- speech in which he insisted that he would attend lice and the intelligence agency, war veterans and the party congress at which his successor would senior army personnel began to speak out public- be chosen. But the introduction of a parliamentary ly. In September 2017, Chris Mutsvangwa, a war motion to impeach him finally led to his resigna- veteran leader, described the G40 faction as "anti- tion a week later, on November 21. During this odd development ... upstarts" making it clear that the interregnum, tanks blocked some of Harare's key veterans would refuse to let a generation that had streets, but for the most part life carried on as usu- not fought in the liberation war take power. In 0- al. Mugabe even attended a university graduation vember, he went further and publicly questioned ceremony in the guise of vice chancellor. The End of the Mugabe Era in Zimbabwe • 165 By ousting Mugabe but retaining their legiti- ing difficult questions about the liberation war. macy as the heirs of his liberation struggle tradi- Many people stood to gain from removing this tion, Mnangagwa, Chiwenga, and Mutsvangwa topic from conversation. Questions could not be played a very clever game, appealing to the ben- asked about who had done what during the war, efits of both change and continuity. Claiming the and in particular about who was responsible for mantle of the liberation war allowed them to posi- violence committed in the name of interparty ri- tion themselves as the defenders of Mugabe and valries and intra party purges. his legacy even as they eased him from power. In order to make this system work, Mugabe also This was shrewd politics, protecting them both had to demobilize and defuse the liberation war domestically against those who wanted the former power base-the party, the war veterans, and their president to be treated with dignity, and externally rural support networks.