Movement for Democratic Change Morgan Tsvangirai says the end-game for Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe is nearer than it has ever been but he hopes the 92-year-old leader can be persuaded to retire so that he has a dignified exit.
In an interview with the Daily Maverick, a South African online newspaper, Tsvangirai said: “The state is fragmented. ZANU-PF is fragmented. The centre is not holding. The opposition and social movements have been emboldened by the actions they have taken; they are in a more aggressive position, which is good.
“There is also international isolation and the continued demand by the international community to put conditions on the Mugabe government to be rescued from their own economic situation. It’s a fantastic combination. There’s a convergence.”
Tsvangirai said Mugabe’s days were numbered.
“The elections in 2018 have to deliver change, or there is nothing left for the people. I don’t believe that any authoritarian rule has a permanence against the will of the people. Yes, the old man may appear as invincible, but you must understand that the democratic struggle has chipped in a slow but consistent way at his control……..
“I’ve always said that the first thing we must agree is that Mugabe must retire. The danger of having unceremonious removal of Mugabe will create a chaos scenario. We must find a way of persuading him, if he can be persuaded to exit with a dignified exit. Not that I support him, but the first stage is to get him out of the way.”
The MDC-T leader said people were giving the too much to the power of the social media.
“I don’t feel any one social movement can cause change, unless you want a revolution,” he said. “Of course #ThisFlag has caught up the imagination of the young digital generation, but unfortunately it’s a bubble that has burst, because the champions have disappeared, they don’t want to take the risk. Some of us have been on the forefront, and we have taken the risk against this regime, and these young people do not want to take the risk, and it’s very disappointing.”
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