A political analyst says that President Emmerson Mnangagwa’s decision to retire four military generals and redeploy them to the diplomatic service was merely not a move calculated to coup-proof himself.
The move means that the military has taken over control of Zimbabwe’s diplomatic services and trade. Moreover, the military has become a pervasive presence in everyday life, with tentacles in business, police, the courts and even the country’s roads. The report reads in part:
When Mnangagwa retired the generals, many analysts were quick to conclude that Mnangagwa had coup-proofed himself, although rumours abound that the four generals are resisting their deployment.
However, that synthesis does not take into consideration the fact that diplomatic service is also an influential posting. In Zimbabwe, the military is a pervasive presence in everyday life, with tentacles in business, police, the courts and even the country’s roads.
The diplomatic service may well be the last frontier and the military is taking over that part of the government too.
… It’s clear the military has taken over Zimbabwe’s diplomatic services and trade. SB Moyo is now more powerful than any other Foreign Affairs minister Zimbabwe has had since independence.
On that score, the military now controls directly, not only the diplomatic thrust but engagement with countries seen as key to Zimbabwe’s reintegration into the world.
Mnangagwa, after all, may now be a mere face of the military establishment.