By Alec Hogg
The pic above was taken in January 2018 in the rarified atmosphere of Davos. One of my Zimbabwean pals, Martin Ganda, had travelled from New York to help the new Mnangagwa administration present its credentials to the rich and powerful assembled for the annual World Economic Forum meetings. It was an exciting time.
Shortly after we arrived, Martin almost begged me to interview his principal, the unknown newly elected president of his homeland. Mnangagwa himself, all smiles and joviality on the phone, even called to set it up. The interview never happened. Martin worked his charms so well elsewhere that my slot was postponed then cancelled. The Crocodile had discovered a feast of rich, gullible Westerners.
___STEADY_PAYWALL___Zimbabwe’s new leader told us what we wanted to hear: he would open the country to the world. It would be a new beginning where investments of Western capitalists would be protected and deliver juicy returns. Mnangagwa’s diary was soon chock-a-block – his popularity was challenged only by SA’s Cyril ‘New Dawn’ Ramaphosa.
I was among the many who drank the Kool-Aid. Even when an old friend from Bulawayo warned me that crocodiles are even more deadly when they smile, I thought him out of touch. We all know who was right about that. The FT reckons Mnangagwa’s bar is even lower than Mugabe’s. Impossible, but true.
Beware the electorate that affords a former Liberation Party one too many passes to legitimate political power.
Sterkte
Alec
Read also:
