OUTSIDE VIEW
We’ve seen this Zimbabwe movie before — and it doesn’t end well
Any catalyst is positive but one must question the catalysts required for the rousing support we saw in Zimbabwe, writes Refilwe Moloto
Hollywood films seldom offer viewers the latitude of two villains. Unlike heroes, who can exist in numbers like The Avengers, their counterparts are seldom afforded the same depth and texture. Evil, by Hollywood scripture, is singular. Monolithic. It's pitch black - no shadows, no nuance. Rarely is it suggested that there are different degrees of evil between two or more villains. The counterpart to the villain must always be a hero, it would seem, in the scriptwriter's mind, and thus the viewer's too. Zimbabweans are celebrating the momentous events of the past week: finally, they say, our villain has been defeated. The evil will, therefore, follow. "Constitutional democracy be damned," the crowd roars."Our villain must be vanquished - by any means necessary." Any catalyst is positive, in my view, in most situations. Yet I have found myself celebrating this moment with muted scepticism.Here rises a man, Emmerson Mnangagwa, who, for years, would bide his time as the lieutenant to Ro...
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