A CELESTIAL observer gleaning for interesting trivia on the political affairs of Zimbabwe from outer space would be excused for concluding that Zimbabwe was reeling under the Mugabe Dynasty.
By definition, a dynasty refers to a succession of people from the same family in prominent roles in politics, business, or other fields.
With due respect to President Robert Mugabe and his small family, Zimbabwe has only had one Mugabe and this does not qualify her as a dynasty.
It is only historical when Zimbabwe had a dynastic system where sitting Karanga paramount chiefs used the title of Mwenemutapa as an indication of a title passed from one Mutapa to the other. Agreeably, Mugabe has invested time and effort towards dominating Zimbabwe’s political landscape since his ascension to power mimicking a dynastic situation.
It is not a mischievous fallacy to state that Mugabe has steadfastly exercised his dominance of Zimbabwe for a whopping 34 years since 1980 and by dint of bad fate he might remain there for a while.
It is also not a seditious disclosure of State secrets to point out that other countries of similar political and economic standing have seen many presidents or heads of State come and go during his rule. Botswana had Quett Masire in 1980, Festus Mogae in 1988 and Ian Khama from 2008 to date.
Since Kenneth Kaunda was deposed by popular demand in 1991, Zambia has had Fredrick Chiluba, Levy Mwanawasa, Rupia Banda and Michael Sata. There are many other countries that can be given as examples.
While the uncountable number of days Mugabe has spent on the throne may make his rule seem like a Mugabe dynasty, in reality it is not a dynasty.
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Whatever Mugabe’s personal ambitions may be, he and he alone cannot be seen as being part of a dynasty. Maybe what can be proved is that he harbours wishes for a Gushungo dynasty and he might be at an advanced stage of implementing those desires.
Every dynasty has a beginning and an end. What if Mugabe is the initiator of the Gushungo dynasty? What if he has decided to groom his small brood of kith for the top job?
What if his wife, who by nature of her well-documented ability to ensnare the powerful, has whispered sweetly in his ears about her wish to see Chatunga taking over as the next president of Zimbabwe?
What if Mugabe has so little regard of the intelligence of his partners in Zanu PF that he sees another Mugabe as the only viable option to the succession quandary?
What if the so-called Securitas choose to install the young Mugabe as their dutiful puppet at State House? What if the Mugabe-smitten people in the newly acquired farms, in the villages and in the districts decide to perpetuate their sadistic relationship with the Mugabe name by electing Chatunga to power?
There is a possibility that another Mugabe could get sworn in as the next president of Zimbabwe via the largesse of the Zanu PF politburo. The factious and mutually divided members of the Zanu PF politburo may settle for yet another Mugabe as a way of sabotaging each other’s chances.
It could be the same with the opposition which remains in limbo due to in-fighting; just like in 2008, another Mugabe could slip through the back doors and steal the coveted post of president.
There is so much going on in Mugabe’s personal life and health for him to wilfully risk dying in power for no other reason than paving a clear path for a Mugabe of his choice.
If there was no familial reward at the end, Mugabe would have quit a long time ago. He is not hanging in there because Zimbabwe’s destiny has an umbilical connection with his continued stay in power, but because he has a personal ambition to see through. He is under immense pressure to ensure that one of his progeny takes over from him at State House.
State House has naturally become synonymous with the name Mugabe. No other leader has warmed the throne and rested his haunches on the stately beds in State House longer than he has. The young Mugabe boys and the recently married Bona know no other home since they were toddlers.
Certainly they would like to keep their home and also to make sure their children and their grandchildren continue to savour those palatial gardens.
Losing State House to any other will be too gross a vicissitude for the Mugabes to deal with. A Gushungo Dynasty has to be planted to retain occupancy of State House for the sole pleasure of the Mugabe progeny. Everything points to a Mugabe who is busy doing all that.
In that desperate and selfish effort to establish a Gushungo Dynasty, Mugabe may stop at nothing including sawing off the branch he is sitting on. While the plans of the grand dynasty are being perfected, Zimbabwe will continue to endure Mugabe’s rule with all its inherent monotony, ineptitude, inefficiencies, corruptibility and cluelessness.
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Masola waDabudabu is a social commentator
