Former Zimbabwe Deputy PM Warns of Coup
- By solomon2day
- On 07/05/2021
- In News
A former Deputy Prime Minister in the now-defunct inclusive government, Prof. Arthur Mutambara has warned that the attempt by the Zimbabwe Government to annex all the powers of the state through the Constitutional Amendment Bill No. 2 could result in a Coup de tat.
Mutambara who made this disclosure recently in an online discussion organized by civic society group, Crisis in Zimbabwe Coalition (CiZC), revealed that the amendment seeks to remove the presidential running mate clause during elections.
“What we are doing now will lead to another coup de tat. You know why? Because when the first one happened, Mugabe had these useless vice presidents, he was hiring and firing at will and one of them (Mnangagwa) left the country and engineered a coup de tat (in November 2017),” he said.
“What Mnangagwa is doing could lead to another coup de tat by somebody else because right now he is controlling succession. He is controlling everything and maybe some people may say the only answer is a coup de tat. If we are not careful these shenanigans will lead to another coup de tat,” Prof. Mutambara stated.
Zimbabwe had a military-led coup in November 2017 when then-President Robert Mugabe was toppled from office and replaced by the incumbent Emmerson Mnangagwa.
Mugabe was accused by the coup leaders of neglecting his presidential duties by allowing his wife, Grace Mugabe, and senior members of the rival Zanu PF faction – G40 – to dictate the country’s affairs. Mugabe died in September 2019.
Zimbabwe Government Prof. Arthur Mutambara