Hurrah for revolution and more cannon-shot!A beggar upon horseback lashes a beggar on foot.Hurrah for revolution and cannon come again!The beggars have changed places, but the lash goes on." The change in the presidency in Zimbabwe calls to mind WB Yeats’s cynical poetic comment (above) on desperately needed political change. On the principle that anyone else would be better, Zimbabweans rejoiced last week as Robert Mugabe stepped down. It is possible his successor, Emmerson "The Crocodile" Mnangagwa (who has his own aura of brutality) may show some sanity on the economy and be slightly more tolerant of dissent. But the base is very low indeed. Already the military has been accused of torturing the finance minister, Ignatius Chombo. The joy over Mugabe’s removal must have prompted deep reflection within the ANC in SA on how an admired icon of the struggle against colonialism came to be hated as an oppressor. Millions of Zimbabweans were turned into beggars and economic refugees by M...
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