Monthly Archives: December 2017
Whither Zimbabwe? A few reflections on 2017 as 2018 approaches
Senator David Coltart Opinion 31st December 2017 For the last two years I have warned that Zimbabwe was facing a perfect storm – the unique convergence of several factors which could tear the country apart. The eye of that storm hit Zimbabwe in mid November and although it tore down the house of Robert Mugabe, […]
Zimbabwe’s Army: New junta or reluctant reformers?
DefenceWeb By Jonathan Katzenellenbogen 13th December 2017 Operation Restore Legacy, which saw the end to Mugabe’s 37 year rule, has broken the log jam in Zimbabwe’s politics. But does it herald a democratic opening and economic recovery? At the moment, all that is clear is that the military will play a key and expanded role. […]
Hope and fear in Zimbabwe: Will the crocodile change his spots?
The Tutu Foundation By Michael Holman 12th December 2017 The immigration official at Harare’s Robert Mugabe international airport looked up from examining my passport, his face expressionless. “Why have you come to Zimbabwe?” “To celebrate,” I replied. “What will you be celebrating?” “Zimbabwe’s liberation,†I said, and I held my breath. Journalists without visas have […]
How ED got it wrong with first Cabinet
The Standard By Violet Gonda 10th December 2017 Journalist Violet Gonda (VG) interviewed former Education minister David Coltart on the Hot Seat programme to understand President Emmerson Mnangagwa’s Cabinet soon after he announced it on the 1st December 2017. This is the transcript of the interview which was done before President Mnangagwa changed his Cabinet […]
An hour or so of Chopin and Beethoven may briefly calm the shattered minds of Zimbabweans
Catholic Herald Notebook 6th December 2017 By Petroc Trelawny I got an email this week inviting me to a recital by a pianist called Genaro Pereira. At the Zimbabwe Academy of Music in Bulawayo. Given the battered, troubled state of the country, it seems almost unbelievable that such events still take place. The people who […]
David Coltart: the future of Zimbabwe – an interview on Radio New Zealand
Radio New Zealand 3rd December 2017 Radio interview Zimbabweans are celebrating the fact that the 37-year reign of Robert Mugabe, leader of the ruling Zanu PF party is over. Emmerson Mnangagwa, known as The Crocodile, was sworn in last week as the country’s new president and pledged to serve “all citizens” and indicated he plans […]
Henry Olonga feared Mugabe thugs would kill him
Bulawayo News 24 2nd December 2017 Almost 15 years after Henry Olonga wore a black armband, Mugabe’s rule in Zimbabwe is finally over. “I’m stunned,” he says. “Here we are in a country that is Mugabe-less for the first time in 37 years. It’s extraordinary.” Henry Olonga had long assumed that Mugabe – who “held […]
‘The same old faces’: Elation turns to despair in the new Zimbabw
Gulf Times 1st December 2017 “We dare not squander the moment,†Emmerson Mnangagwa said just a week ago at his swearing in as president, referring to the high hopes Zimbabweans had placed on him as a harbinger of change for a desperate nation. Seven days on and optimism was turning to cynicism as Zimbabweans’ collective […]
Let’s break out of the political madness zone
Newsday 1st December 2017 By Conway Tutani Now that the disastrously failed and highly polarising Robert Mugabe is out, the imperative is to manage expectations, which have shot high in a matter of days. CONWAY TUTANI ECHOES Flashback to 1980: There was an outbreak of strikes as over-expectant Zimbabweans demanded immediate change after the attainment […]
For Zimbabwe’s new president, a past tainted by a brutal massacre
CNN By David McKenzie and Brent Swails 1st December 2017 Bulawayo, Zimbabwe (CNN) When the soldiers in the red berets arrived in Alice Mwale’s village in the fading light, they were not happy. “They asked me why I wasn’t at the political meeting. They said I had run away,” says Mwale, holding a crutch in […]