Mugabe, a kettle calling the pot black

Former president Robert Mugabe took the occasion to celebrate his 95th birthday to twist the knife into President Emmerson Mnangagwa and all those he accuses of using illegal means to kick him out of power in November 2017.

The teetotaller denounced the use of lethal force by Mnangagwa to crush last month’s protests, and warned that his successor faces the spectre of being overthrown because “God has his own way of punishing rogues and cruel people”.

“You want to shower yourself with praises despite being at the top? You are not God ED. Today you are at the top, tomorrow you will be at the bottom, bear that in mind. God has his own way of punishing rogues and cruel people,” Mugabe said.

“We condemn the violence on civilians by soldiers,” he said. “You can’t do without seeing dead bodies? What kind of a person are you? You feed on death?” he fumed.

Since his ouster, Mugabe has rarely been seen in public. The first time he emerged out of his shell was towards the July 30, harmonised poll when he invited members of the Fourth Estate to his palatial home in Borrowdale.

In that interview, Mugabe threw his weight behind MDC Alliance presidential candidate Nelson Chamisa — infuriating his former comrades in Zanu PF who were expecting him to back Mnangagwa.

As a citizen of this country, Mugabe is surely entitled to his views — just like any other Zimbabwean. His vitriol is also not without merit.

Mnangagwa has disappointed many ever since he assumed the reigns, with his most grievous wrongs being the deployment of the military to quell protests.

After the August 1, debacle, the army was deployed once again last month to crush protests over steep fuel prices, resulting in the death of a dozen people.

His excesses have thrown off-rails Zimbabwe’s re-engagement efforts, making it even harder for his administration to revive the country’s economy.

What we, however, find strange with Mugabe’s holier-than-thou attitude is that he has conveniently forgotten about his excesses during his 37 years of iron-fisted rule. It’s like a kettle calling the pot black.

Fifteen months is too short a period for Zimbabweans to have forgotten how Mugabe turned what was once Africa’s promising economy from being the breadbasket of the region into a basket case.

Zimbabweans may have forgiven him, but they are not fools as to forget how he trampled on people’s basic rights to keep power.

The least Mugabe can do is to keep quiet to allow wounds to heal or at least capitalise on this opportunity to apologise for every wrong he presided over during his reign. DailyNews