Editorial: Zimbabwe needs more than defeat for Robert Mugabe

Supporters of Zimbabwe's President in-waiting Emmerson Mnangagwa await his arrival. Photo / AP

Editorial

The fall of Robert Mugabe creates an interesting challenge for countries like New Zealand. Is the removal of Zimbabwe's dictator a chance to nudge the new regime towards democracy or just an internal power grab that changes nothing?

There is every reason to be pleased Mugabe has finally gone. The 93-year-old became an international byword for corruption, state-sponsored murder and staggering incompetence that turned his once prosperous country into an economic basket case.

Mugabe came to power in 1980, after waging a successful guerilla war against Ian Smith's white-minority government in what was then Rhodesia.

He spoke of racial reconciliation and was nominated for a Nobel Peace Prize but followed up with a violent land grab of Zimbabwe's white-owned farms, which he handed over to his cronies instead of distributing to poor black Zimbabweans as he had promised.

As the government looting spread, the economy nosedived and foreign banks fled - so Mugabe just printed more money. Inflation reached 500 billion per cent in 2008, forcing the country to adopt the US dollar.

About a quarter of Zimbabweans fled to neighbouring South Africa. Mugabe's secret police have killed and tortured hundreds of opposition supporters and from 1983 to 1985 his army massacred about 20,000 supporters of opposition leader Joshua Nkomo in Matabeleland in southern Zimbabwe.

More recently Mugabe and his second wife, Grace, 41 years his junior, enraged ordinary Zimbabweans by building a 25-bedroom mansion in Harare, while "Gucci Grace" spent up on designer clothes and jewellery.

More significantly, Grace tried to position herself as her ailing husband's successor and persuaded him to sack his deputy, Emmerson Mnangagwa - a crucial mistake.

Mnangagwa rallied the army and the ruling Zanu PF party to turn against the Mugabes.

After a brief but relatively civilised power struggle, the ageing dictator realised the game was up. He stepped down in return for apparent promises of safety and immunity from his crimes.

As Zimbabwe's new leader, Mnangagwa is again talking about democracy but his track record is appalling.

He was the head of the security forces for many years before becoming vice president and played a crucial role in the 1980s Matabeleland massacres and a campaign of murder, rape and torture which enabled Mugabe to steal the 2008 election.

The US State Department said in 2000 that he "could be an even more repressive leader" than Mugabe.

Nicknamed "The Crocodile" for his ruthlessness, Mnangagwa has already made it clear that Zanu PF will remain firmly in control and his promised election is a year away.

Yet there are a few signs of hope. While Mugabe was ousted by a palace coup rather than a popular uprising, the jubilation on the streets was real and has raised public expectations.

The opposition Movement for Democratic Change has grown bolder overnight and Mnangagwa desperately needs overseas money to restart Zimbabwe's collapsed economy, which is saddled with a $16 billion debt.

The United States has indicated it expects progress before handing out any cash. Insisting on a multi-party transitional government which includes prominent MDC figures would be a good start.