Point of NO return: Mugabe committed political suicide when he tried to arrest Chiwenga

Zwnews Chief Correspondent

In November 2017, the then Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe, blundered by letting Zimbabwe Defence Forces (ZDF) Commander General Constantino Chiwenga fly to China, however he had no grounds of stopping him fly out.

The army General was yet to issue his treasonous statement, but Mugabe could have sniffed a ploy, by only wanting to arrest the General upon his return, it was already a little too late for the aged dictator.

After the sacking of Emmerson Mnangagwa, by the then Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe from both the ruling party and government, ZDF General Chiwenga flew to China where he met with the then exiled Mnangagwa to finalise on the coup plan.

Sooner than later, Chiwenga made a proclamation that the ZANU PF disturbances that included Mnangagwa’s sacking have rendered Zimbabwe politically unstable, and he warned that the military was now ready to step in.

The statement angered Mugabe who was now sure that when Mnangagwa made the promise to come back and take the levers of power, he meant it for real. To Mugabe, Chiwenga’s utterances were an act of insurgency, banditry, meant to cause public despondency, and the police were put on high alert to arrest him on his return.

Mugabe then deployed paramilitary police unit (Black boots) at Robert Mugabe International Airport, to arrest Chiwenga as soon as he touches Zimbabwean soil. The police fell into an army ring.

The military exhibited their combating supremacy, after military intelligence sniffed the ploy, and Chiwenga was guided to safety.

Though the coup was already afoot, that event marked a point of no return.

It was now dog eat dog, and there was no more turning back.

The battle lines had finally been clearly marked.

The attempt to arrest Chiwenga marked the first step towards the coup, the relationship between the police and the army which has been known to be similar to that of a ‘cat and a dog’ soured to another level. Hostility that existed between the two was manure fed and watered.

The military coup gathered momentum, and went into overdrive, even Chiwenga knew what awaits him, had he ever contemplated aborting the overthrow.

It was time when, the law of the jungle ‘survival of the fittest’ ruled the roost.

The attempt to arrest Chiwenga, and the statements by Mugabe’s people, particularly his wife Grace and the then ZANU PF secretary for youths, Kudzai Chipanga, the army general should confine himself to the barracks and the statement that they (Mugabe’s boys) were ready to fight for their king (Mugabe), further angered the military into action.