Zimbabwe: From Mugabe to Mnangagwa

The aim of the article is to consider the causes and consequences of the dramatic events that led to a change in the leadership in Zimbabwe. First, the author overviews the history of Robert Mugabe's rule. Then he describes the events that took place in Zimbabwe at the end of 2017 and put an end to Mugabe's rule. He analyses the 2018 Zimbabwean election campaign, the actual 2018 general election results, and the development of the situation in the country after the election. The article is based on the analysis of existing research on Zimbabwe; Zimbabwean, South African, British, Russian and other media; and the author's experience inside Zimbabwe. At the end of 2017 - beginning of 2018, within several months, there was a change in the leadership both in the ruling Zimbabwean African National Union, the Patriotic Front (ZANU-PF), (and consequently in the country's government) and in the opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC). On 15th November 2017 media around the world reported about military armored vehicles that appeared on the streets of the Zimbabwean capital, Harare. The media talked about a "military coup". It became clear that the 93-year-old President Robert Mugabe, who ruled the country since it gained independence in 1980, was no longer in control and that his era was drawing to a close. Several days later, on 21st of November, Mugabe resigned as the president of the country. On 24th of November, former Vice-President Emmerson Mnangagva became the new president of Zimbabwe. The G40 faction which vied for power in ZANU-PF in the past and opposed the current leadership of Zimbabwe ceased to exist. Mugabe's wife, Grace, who used to head this faction fully recognized the authority of the new President Mnangagwa. On 30th July 2018, he won the presidential election. Though the opposition lost election in 2018, its influence has grown. It has significantly increased its presence in the parliament. The main reason for this increase in popularity is its new young leader, Nelson Chamisa. He is only 40 years old and thus contrasts considerably with Mnangagwa, who is 75. Despite the damage caused to the government's image by the tragic events at the beginning of August 2018, when six opposition protestors where killed by soldiers, the situation in the country has stabilized. In September, an independent Commission of Inquiry, headed by former President of South Africa Kgalema Motlan-the, was established in order to investigate the fatal shootings. But so far Zimbabwean authorities were unable to achieve any meaningful progress on the economic front.

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