There is no night ever so long that it prevents the sun from rising. For Zimbabwe, this night has been dark and long and its’ people almost lost hope for a new dawn.
I have never known another President besides Robert Mugabe, a man whose legacy as a liberator has been overshadowed by violence, atrocities, stolen elections, and the blatant disregard for the well-being of the people he promised to serve.
His quest for power saw a once prosperous nation brought to its knees, its’ people silenced and afraid to speak out, an all-consuming darkness blacking out the promise that was so evident at Independence in 1980 – any hint of light quickly and ruthlessly extinguished. Just a month ago, Zimbabweans would not have expected anything to change. They had become used to the darkness of the last two decades, their eyes adjusting to it as they strived to make the best of a bad situation with humour and incredible resilience.
On the 15th of November, Zimbabweans woke up to learn that the military had taken control of the state in response to the sacking of the Vice President Emmerson Mnangagwa – the only person that stood in the way of Grace Mugabe’s rise to power and the creation of a dynastic dictatorship. Corrupt officials closest to the Mugabe’s were arrested by the army and the police, a key weapon in Mugabe’s arsenal of oppression were quickly withdrawn, creating a space for action and a glimmer of light for Zimbabweans.
On the 18th of November, like moths to a flame, Zimbabweans took to the streets in their thousands to demand the resignation of Robert Mugabe. This march had the atmosphere of a carnival as Zimbabweans of every race, age, and political affiliation united under one flag and one purpose, came together and celebrated as they walked towards State House.
People laughed, danced, sang, and waved their flags as they marched. The army controlled the crowds, occasionally giving the odd fist bump, high five or peace sign. Advocate Fadzayi Mahere so eloquently described the mood on that day, saying it was if tens of thousands of people had been freed from prison and were suddenly seeing the sunshine for the first time after twenty years of dark isolation.
The day after the ‘freedom march’, Robert Mugabe’s political party, the ruling ZANU PF, voted unanimously to recall him as president of the party and expelled Grace Mugabe along with a number of high-level party members aligned with her. Robert Mugabe was given until noon the following day to tender his resignation as President of the Republic. However, noon came and went with no resignation and subsequently the Zimbabwean Parliament and Senate convened to begin impeachment proceedings – a decision that would ultimately require the cooperation of both the ruling party and opposition politicians.
A couple of hours into the proceedings, the Speaker received a letter and announced the official resignation of the President. Since the army takeover, both international and local press and media had been given the freedom to report and so the news of Mugabe’s resignation was heard and seen live by Zimbabweans across the country.
I heard the sound of celebration before I heard the news. The sleepy northern suburbs of Harare came alive with the sounds of cheering and hooting vehicles. Once again Zimbabweans took to the streets to celebrate. I had mixed emotions in that moment – disbelief; joy, but also sadness for all my fellow Zimbabweans that had had to endure so much because of one man’s lust for power. I felt sad for all the Zimbabweans dispersed across the globe and the families separated (including my own) in their attempt to escape the dark night that had engulfed their beloved homeland.
We have a new President now and there is so much hope for the future, but like 1980, we Zimbabweans cannot become complacent, we cannot stop fighting to ensure that the darkness does not creep back in. It is our responsibility to ensure that the voices of all Zimbabweans are represented, human rights are respected, and the new government is held accountable in order to create the Great Zimbabwe we dreamt of during that long night.
Citation: Horsfield, G. (2017). A New Dawn in Zimbabwe? The Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (Sida). Stockholm, Sweden. (Only available to Sida staff with access to their intranet).
About the author …
Dr Gareth Horsfield has published extensively in the areas of gender and climate change, resilience, development communication, politics, and queer and feminist theory. He is a Feminist and LGBTQ+ human rights advocate and has been working to ensure that Zimbabweans enjoy their rights as enshrined in Zimbabwe’s Constitution. Gareth holds a PhD in International and Applied Economics (University of Reading), an MSc in Applied Development Studies majoring in Gender and Agricultural Development (University of Reading), an MA in Human Rights, a BSc (Hons) in Agriculture and Natural Resource Management (Africa University) and Postgraduate Diplomas in International Relations, Diplomacy and Gender Studies. This post was written the day that Robert Mugabe resigned following Zimbabwe’s ‘non-coup’.
