FT’s fascinating interview with a Mugabe confidant shows a man in denial — or defiance
Harare — Robert Mugabe was in an optimistic, confident frame of mind at the weekend, as the political crisis swirled around him, the Financial Times reported. The FT interviewed George Charamba, Mugabe’s spokesman and one of his closest advisers for 17 years, who characterised last week’s military takeover as an attempt to get rid of some bad influences surrounding the president. In the interview, which took place before Mugabe confounded a world that had expected him to announce his resignation on Sunday, Charamba talked about "munching corn" and reminiscing with the president, in a conversation that took on a philosophical bent. Charamba told the FT he had spent five hours with Mugabe on Saturday and said he remained on form in spite of the storms raging around him. "In the midst of such a highly charged intellectual conversation, we were munching corn," he said. "Oh my God, he was very upbeat and chatty." The FT said Charamba had insisted that the military had intervened not to f...
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