Zimbabwe Update

Well, it appears that I missed a rampage by Zimbabwean troops who had not received their pay, but caught the story that Mugabe is looking at retribution against those soldiers:

In a clear sign that President Mugabe's hold on his state security machinery is starting to crumble, his once-loyal soldiers ran amok across the capital on Monday after they failed to access their paltry wages in the cash-strapped banks. The unarmed soldiers fought with heavily-armed police and several were arrested.

It was the third outbreak of such violence since last Thursday. The sight of rampaging soldiers was then unprecedented. Army sources said an inquiry had already begun, with dozens facing courts martial. Unconfirmed reports say three of the 12 soldiers who took part in Thursday's riot have been killed.

So it appears that the rank and file in the Zimbabwean Army are starting to lose discipline.

In the short term, this is troubling, in the medium term, it may mean that Mugabe is closer to being out than I would have believed, and in the longer term, it does not bode well for a post ZANU-PF nation.

In the mean time, things are getting worse, with cholera deaths increasing, and there have been public protests about this from health care professionals.

It's not just cholera though, the UN has run out of funds for food aid, so for many, starvation looms.

On the bright side, we are seeing a bit of backbone from the African community, with
Kenyan Prime Minister Raila Odinga calling explicitly for Robert Mugabe's removal and he and ANC president Jacob Zuma have publicly declared that that will work together on the crisis, which is clearly a disavowal by Odinga of Thabo Mbeki.

It's also interesting that the Kenyan Prime Minister has called for a military intervention to depose Mugabe, followed by war crimes trials.

Hopefully, this means that there will be some meaningful movement (meaningful means out) by Robert Mugabe, but I have a feeling that he will not leave while he is still alive.