Robert Mugabe’s former information chief says in an interview published on Saturday that the Zimbabwean president’s inner circle is afraid to get rid of him, despite current economic and political woes.
Jonathan Moyo told the Financial Times in London there is little chance of Mugabe being overthrown or replaced, as Zimbabwe’s senior military, police and intelligence officers fear the collapse of the ruling Zanu-PF party if he went.
”Only the Joint Operations Command could go to him and tell him to stand down,” Moyo told the business daily. ”And they think the status quo is the safest at the moment.”
He added: ”There is one thing that Mugabe says that is true: he is afraid that change will lead to the disintegration of Zanu-PF. That’s why the military prefers the status quo.”
Moyo was thrown out of Zanu-PF in February 2005 after registering to stand as an independent candidate in Zimbabwe’s parliamentary elections.
As information minister, he oversaw the introduction of draconian media laws that led to the expulsion of foreign correspondents and the closure of one popular daily newspaper. The laws also threatened non-licensed journalists with jail.
Mugabe (83) has been in power since 1980, but the country is in the grip of hyperinflation. Figures released this week said the cost of living for an average urban family surged by nearly 50% in the past month.
It is believed the country has the world’s highest rate of inflation, possibly well beyond 5 000%. Unemployment is running at about 80% in what was once seen as an economic role model for Africa.
Mugabe has also been condemned for trampling on democracy and human rights.
Nevertheless, Moyo suggested Mugabe is likely to try to cling on to power. ”I’m sure there’s an element of a martyrdom complex. ‘I’ve crossed the Rubicon,’ he thinks. He wants to fight to the bitter end.” — Sapa-AFP