"We Feared Mugabe Would Be Dragged Through Streets Like Gaddafi"

As high-level negotiations between Zimbabwe's former president Robert Mugabe and the military generals unfolded, a lot was also happening behind the scenes. Talk of sinister plots, ominous sub-plots; all was being done to ensure that the veteran, controversial leader would be reined in by the military and relinquish power. 

Mugabe's ex-spokesperson George Charamba, infamous for his sometimes exasperating propaganda narratives, revealed that Mugabe was told that if he refused to leave power he would face the same fate as that which Gaddafi, unceremoniously encountered in his final days.

George Charamba was part of the tense negotiations and he had to warn Mugabe of this likelihood.  “The commanders sent us with a very chilling message, they said ‘please go and get the president to appreciate the gravity of the situation out there’,” Charamba divulged to the local Daily News.

 “There was the possibility of a Libyan scenario where the president would have been dragged out of the Blue Roof (Mugabe’s Harare home) and lynched. It was going to be possible because the soldiers said ‘we cannot turn our guns on civilians who are marching against the president and spill blood’,” Charamba added.

Robert Mugabe is known for his notoriety as a stubborn leader who was very shrewd, and who would not give in feebly to any demands that would not work in his favour. Charamba says that Mugabe had been very adamant that he would not leave power despite mounting pressure from all corners. 

Charamba had to highlight the fact that there were other "dimensions" that were posing a threat to his hold on power, and to his general well-being as well. “I said shefu (leader), you are concentrating on one dimension; there are others which are there which indicated harm to your well-being,” Charamba quotes himself as telling Mugabe. 

Fearing the humiliation of being impeached, Mugabe finally handed in his resignation letter to Parliament. His resignation saw the ushering in of what the Zimbabwean media refers to as the "new dispensation." Much is still yet to be delivered by the new government.