Zimbabwe’s President Robert Mugabe has resigned, bringing an end to 37 years of rule and sparking jubilant celebrations in the nation’s street, we can read on the BBC website . This news is making the headlines, and rightfully so.
In 2013, in our post about conflict minerals, we wrote: Robert Mugabe: the missing diamond revenues and the elections. And just last month, we posted about Zimbabwe and a decade of disappearing diamonds and why diamond trade is still one of the biggest issue in the country.
An impeachment hearing had begun against Mugabe and earlier today, in a last move, the former president of Zimbabwe sent a letter to the speaker of parliament to announce he was resigning. Better late than ever, some may say.
Fergal Keane, BBC Africa editor, Harare, writes:
Driving through Harare, the cheers and the blaring of car horns signalled the end of the Mugabe era. The man who dominated Zimbabwe for so long has already begun to fade into history here. It is a city singing with the noise of joy. Exactly a week after the military first moved against President Mugabe, I was standing in parliament as legislators debated the motion to impeach him.
Suddenly, there was cheering. An usher approached the speaker and handed him a letter. He stood to speak and we strained to hear his words. They were muffled but momentous. Robert Mugabe had resigned. On the floor of the parliament I met jubilant MPs. Some danced. Celebrations spilled into the hallways and out into the street.
A people who endured white minority rule and then saw their independence become tyranny found themselves suddenly free
The Guardian also mentions in this post jubilation in streets and parliament tinged with uncertainty about future following decades of authoritarian rule. But Mugabe’s resignation letter made no mention of who should replace him as president…
Mugabe’s fall will reverberate across a continent where hundreds of millions of people still suffer the excesses of authoritarian rulers, are denied justice by corrupt or incompetent officials, and struggle to hold even elected governments to account […] Mnangagwa, 75, the war veteran, Zanu-PF stalwart and former spy chief, is expected to be sworn in to replace Mugabe as president later this week. However, he is not the obvious face of change. […] The fragmented opposition movement will be hoping for a commitment from any new ruler that they will be included in any transition government, and that national elections due to be held by next August will go ahead as planned.
We truly hope Zimbabweans will now have a better future and that they will take the opportunity to rebuild a new and prosperous country!
