Latest opinion on the Zimbabwe situation
Calm down Zimbabwe, President Mugabe is out; latest by Tuesday, there is no going back. Remember we are dealing with super smart generals who carried out a coup which is an illegal activity without commiting any crime.
If you paid attention to the President's speech, it seemed to be a carefully choreographed one. He was forced to reckon that the actions of the generals were legal and were meant to protect the constitution. He also acknowledged that the generals' concerns were strongly founded. He acknowledged also the decline of the country's economy. In a way, all claims of a coup have been allayed. Therefore it's now on record that Zimbabwe's army did not stage a coup, and no country has grounds to delegitimize the incoming government.
Here is the win for the army. People and parliament can now freely impeach the president without fearing for their lives. The elephant in the room has been removed.
To summarize, this speech:
1. Tells SADC and the international community that there is no coup in Zimbabwe
2. Tells everyone that Zimbabwe has a functional democracy and everything that was done by the army was above the law and necessary
3. Highlights that the issues raised by the military are genuine and legitimate, and need to be fixed.
4. Highlights that the country needs to retain both the party and government to its founding values and constitution
So, President Mugabe is gone, but the real worry must be where is Zimbabwe going?