TOM EATON: Mugabe's generals paused on the banks of the Rubicon
'A certain kind of leader is very big on "dignity", especially after he's crashed the economy of his country or sold it to foreign oligarchs'
On Sunday, as Robert Mugabe wished the world a good night, nobody was sure what they'd just seen. Was this the Rubicon, or had rubes just been conned? Soon, however, slow-motion replays were revealing the truth: a small sheaf of papers - presumably the bit of the speech that included Mugabe's resignation - being passed between generals the way teenagers try to offload a joint when their mom knocks on the door. You take it! No, you! It was your idea! No, it wasn't! Nothing, mom, we're just, er, studying!The problem was the chairs. Had Zimbabwe fallen for the hyper-kitsch, Kardashian-kak aesthetic that has seduced the ANC, everybody would have been sitting in huge, white, high-backed pleather armchairs. It would have been easy to stuff the speech down a crack. Mugabe, however, is Anglophile to his core and had packed the place with austere, thin-legged chairs straight out of Downton Abbey (or, as he calls it, "my favourite documentary"). There was nowhere to hide the purged pages. And...
Would you like to comment on this article?
Sign up (it's quick and free) or sign in now.
Please read our Comment Policy before commenting.
Subscribe now to unlock this article.
Support BusinessLIVE’s award-winning journalism for R129 per month (digital access only).
There’s never been a more important time to support independent journalism in SA. Our subscription packages now offer an ad-free experience for readers.
Cancel anytime.
Questions? Email helpdesk@businesslive.co.za or call 0860 52 52 00. Got a subscription voucher? Redeem it now.