Outspoken MDC-T organising secretary Abednico Bhebhe said that the late former president Robert Mugabe and his predecessor President Emmerson Mnangagwa have similar traits, namely, the refusal to adopt necessary reforms to resolve the country’s challenges.
Speaking during an interview with the Daily News on Sunday Staff Writer Jeffrey Muvundusi, Bhebhe stated that under Mnangagwa, Zimbabwe will likely continue down a path of political polarisation, protests, political violence at the hands of the State. He said:
I personally would characterise the rise or replacement of Mugabe by Mnangagwa as putting lipstick on a pig. In other words, Mnangagwa is paying lip service to reforms in the hope of securing regional and international support, but staunchly refusing to implement any measures that might harm his and his backers’ political and economic interests, typical Mugabe’s style during his 37 years of misrule.
Like Mugabe’s administration, Mnangagwa’s government continues to prevent and violently suppress political protests and the State media remains heavily biased in favour of the ruling party, as do other systems.
Some people are even saying that Mnangagwa is in many ways governing in a more sophisticated repressive and cruel manner than his predecessor.
Within his two years in power, armed forces have cracked down on several occasions with several people killed and thousands arrested.
Political manipulation and distortion of the economy continue unabated. It is my firm belief that Zimbabweans are still like passengers on board the same bus, but what changed were the drivers.
The country is likely to continue down a path of political polarisation, protests, political violence at the hands of the State and further economic deterioration worse than before.
In short, Mnangagwa and Mugabe are just two sides of the same coin.