ZIMBABWE
Uncertain period ahead with Zimbabwe in a state of flux
The period of volatility that Zimbabwe is entering will further damage an economy that is already on its knees, writes Roddy Barclay
Tuesday’s military intervention in Zimbabwe looks set to bring a climactic end to President Robert Mugabe’s three decades of iron-fisted rule. While the army is insisting this is not a coup d’état, it certainly bears all the trappings of one. Regional and international governments have called for a restoration of elected rule but have been notably low-key in their protestations, probably reflecting a desire to look forward to the election of a new government and not backwards to the restoration of Mugabe. In his hour of greatest need, it seems the antagonistic Zimbabwean president has found himself short of allies. The backdrop to this instability is very much an internal affair, rooted in the heart of the governing Zanu-PF party as a president clinging on to power has seen the factions beneath him fight over the corpse of his legacy. In recent months, an escalating battle has played out between opposing factions — the G40 spearheaded by the president’s truculent wife, Grace Mugabe,...
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