Wilson Chipangura, Guest Reporter
LUSAKA – One of the subject which is at the centre of politics in Zimbabwe since the disputed August 2018 polls or even way before, is the issue of legitimacy. Who is the legitimate leader of the country?
Some will tell you it is Emmerson Mnangagwa but not everyone agrees, especially the people.
The dispute has even spilled beyond the country’s borders and the election of Zambia’s Hakainde Hichilema as president in the copper rich nation recently has not helped matters for the ruling elite in Zimbabwe.
Panic is the word to describe the state of situation in ZANU PF.
Hichilema will be inaugurated on Tuesday 24th August 2021 and has invited Zimbabwe’s opposition leader Nelson Chamisa to grace the occasion.
The victorious UPND which resoundingly won the election last week to end Edgar Chagwa Lungu’s reign of terror got support from Chamisa’s MDC Alliance as the two parties ensured their relationship was not a fluke.
It is this situation that has left ZANU PF in a fix – even threatening to stop the change from reaching Zimbabwe in coming elections slated for 2023.
President Mnangagwa even went a step further to declare his infamous statement that those who dream of seeing what happened in Zambia also taking place in 2023 should wake up and brew beer.
Information secretary Nick Mangwana was also at the forefront poking fun at the opposition MDC Alliance saying victory in Zambia had nothing to do with them and only Mnangagwa will attend the inauguration as the head of state.
“President [Emmerson Mnangagwa] will be invited for the inauguration of whoever wins the Zambian Election. It’s down to him to attend or not. There is no price (sic) for guessing who will not be invited,” said Mangwana.
However, the winning party in Zambia had other ideas as they chose to invite MDC Alliance leader Nelson Chamisa and former Democratic Alliance (South Africa) leader Mmusi Maimane for the big event.
The conclusion is that Hichilema is technically solving the legitimate question in Zimbabwe and the indignation from ZANU PF will be on the show for a long time.
