President Robert Mugabe's time as Zimbabwe's ruler is drawing to a close and his last days in office could be "nasty, short and brutish," his former right-hand man, Jonathan Moyo, said on Tuesday.
He said Mugabe would face a "very high threat of a palace coup" if he refused to retire voluntarily.
"Compelling forces are gathering against Mugabe's continued rule," said the independent member of parliament who broke with the president two years ago.
Mugabe confronts neighboring leaders today at a summit of the 14-nation Southern African Development Community (SADC) in Dar-es-Salaam, Tanzania.
The body announced the "extraordinary summit" only on Monday and southern African leaders have scrambled to change schedules to consider Zimbabwe's crisis.
"Neighboring leaders and factions within ZANU-PF agree that Mugabe has become a liability," said Moyo, the former information minister.
"They are pressing Mugabe to retire when his current term expires in 2008. Mugabe does not want to accept that, but even a master politician has a limited number of tricks in his hat and Mugabe is running out of ploys that he can use. No one will buy his anti-Western, anti-imperialist rhetoric any more," Moyo said.
"The timing of this summit is very smart. It has thrown a spanner in the works of Mugabe's orchestrated campaign to run for another presidential term. I see South Africa's hand behind this move," Moyo said.
He added that Mugabe was planning to steamroller his party to endorse him for another presidential term at ZANU-PF's central committee meeting on Friday, but neighboring leaders had upset his plan.
"I have been to these SADC summits and I know that behind closed doors the leaders are brutally frank. They will remind Mugabe that he told them he would retire at the end of this term in 2008. They will tell him he must do that," Moyo said.
Namibia and Angola have been Mugabe's strongest supporters within the SADC, but Moyo said they had been persuaded by South Africa and Zambia to stop protecting the Zimbabwean leader.
"The statement issued at the close of the summit will not strongly condemn Mugabe, that is not the way SADC works. But I am certain that in the meeting the leaders will have told him in no uncertain terms that he must retire," Moyo said.
"They will tell Mugabe that his rule in Zimbabwe is dragging down the whole southern African region. They will say Zimbabwe's economic collapse is negatively affecting all neighboring countries," he added.
There are two factions in ZANU-PF opposed to Mugabe, led by Vice President Joice Mujuru and Housing Minister Emmerson Mnangagwa.
"These factions have already blocked Mugabe's plan to extend his term by two years until 2010. Now they will oppose Mugabe's plan to run for another presidential term," Moyo said.
"The region, public opinion and the majority of leaders in ZANU-PF agree on one thing, Mugabe is the problem. They know that as long as Mugabe is the leader, things will get worse in Zimbabwe," he added.
Moyo said Mugabe was likely to fight to stay in power.
SEEKING CHANGE: A hospital worker said she did not vote in previous elections, but ‘now I can see that maybe my vote can change the system and the country’ Voting closed yesterday across the Solomon Islands in the south Pacific nation’s first general election since the government switched diplomatic allegiance from Taiwan to Beijing and struck a secret security pact that has raised fears of the Chinese navy gaining a foothold in the region. The Solomon Islands’ closer relationship with China and a troubled domestic economy weighed on voters’ minds as they cast their ballots. As many as 420,000 registered voters had their say across 50 national seats. For the first time, the national vote also coincided with elections for eight of the 10 local governments. Esther Maeluma cast her vote in the
Nearly half of China’s major cities are suffering “moderate to severe” levels of subsidence, putting millions of people at risk of flooding, especially as sea levels rise, according to a study of nationwide satellite data released yesterday. The authors of the paper, published by the journal Science, found that 45 percent of China’s urban land was sinking faster than 3mm per year, with 16 percent at more than 10mm per year, driven not only by declining water tables, but also the sheer weight of the built environment. With China’s urban population already in excess of 900 million people, “even a small portion
UNSETTLING IMAGES: The scene took place in front of TV crews covering the Trump trial, with a CNN anchor calling it an ‘emotional and unbelievably disturbing moment’ A man who doused himself in an accelerant and set himself on fire outside the courthouse where former US president Donald Trump is on trial has died, police said yesterday. The New York City Police Department (NYPD) said the man was declared dead by staff at an area hospital. The man was in Collect Pond Park at about 1:30pm on Friday when he took out pamphlets espousing conspiracy theories, tossed them around, then doused himself in an accelerant and set himself on fire, officials and witnesses said. A large number of police officers were nearby when it happened. Some officers and bystanders rushed
HYPOCRISY? The Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs yesterday asked whether Biden was talking about China or the US when he used the word ‘xenophobic’ US President Joe Biden on Wednesday called for a hike in steel tariffs on China, accusing Beijing of cheating as he spoke at a campaign event in Pennsylvania. Biden accused China of xenophobia, too, in a speech to union members in Pittsburgh. “They’re not competing, they’re cheating. They’re cheating and we’ve seen the damage here in America,” Biden said. Chinese steel companies “don’t need to worry about making a profit because the Chinese government is subsidizing them so heavily,” he said. Biden said he had called for the US Trade Representative to triple the tariff rates for Chinese steel and aluminum if Beijing was