"Military coup can't be ruled out" says Zimbabwe's former Home Affairs Minister

Zimbabwe’s former Home Affairs Minister Dumiso Dabengwa says a military coup cannot be ruled out in the country as some members of the Zimbabwe National Army are not happy about President Robert Mugabe’s dismissal of former Vice President Emmerson Mnangagwa.

Dabengwa was speaking after launching the Dumiso Dabengwa Foundation in Bulawayo and said that it is unfortunate that Zimbabweans believe that a military coup can be the best way of removing Mugabe and Zanu-PF from power. Former ZIPRA combatant Retired Colonel Baster Magwizi concurred with Dabengwa but said the coup could be sparked by the sacking of one of the army generals. Magwizi said a coup would fix Zimbabwe’s socio-economic and political problems if the army handed over power to civilians in the shortest possible time through free and fair general elections.

However, political observers like Nkosikathi Moyo of the Zimbabwe Organisation for Youth in Politics and Claris Madhuku of the Platform for Youth Development said it is unlikely that the army would stage a coup.