Arguably, the priceless lesson Nelson Mandela bequeathed to future generations after triumphantly dismantling the racist apartheid regime of South Africa in 1994 is the rare gift of nurturing transformational leadership which is essential for the progression of nationhood.
After enduring 27 years in jail, Madiba — as Mandela was affectionately known globally — stunned the world when he smoothly handed over the country’s presidency to his deputy Thabo Mbeki in June 1999, laying a solid foundation for the life of South Africa’s second republic.
Avoiding the temptation of being ensnared by the irresistible trappings of power, Mandela also handed over leadership of the African National Congress (ANC) to Mbeki, having only served a single five year term as President.
Enthusiasts of biographies capturing the lives of national and political leaders will agree that Zelda la Grange’s Good Morning Mr Mandela — a biography on Madiba’s selfless life — teaches the importance of establishing a smooth succession plan in public governance.
Sadly, South Africa’s compatriots north of the Limpopo have ignored the essential lesson of establishing a solid leadership succession plan thereby entangling Zimbabwe in a vicious governance quagmire.
In Zimbabwe’s case, the late Robert Mugabe — once revered across the world as a model democrat and Pan Africanist after leading the country to its Independence in 1980 clung to power for close to four decades.
For 37 years, Mugabe, deploying Machiavellian tactics, placed the pressing succession question on the backburner. This triggered internecine party conflicts culminating in the intervention of the military in 2017. During that turbulent year, Mugabe’s political fate was sealed. The military staged an operation that toppled him, subsequently condemning his legacy into the dustbin of history due to his corrosive obsession with power. Mugabe’s ouster from power catapulted his successor, President Emmerson Mnangagwa to the helm, heralding Zimbabwe’s Second Republic.
However, in recent times, senior Zanu PF and government leaders have been sloganeering that Mnangagwa will still be ensconced in power until 2030 — a situation which would plunge Zimbabwe into a constitutional crisis. The sloganeering culminated in a crescendo when Zanu PF secretary for legal affairs, Patrick Chinamasa became the latest senior party official to chant the slogan while addressing a provincial co-ordinating committee meeting in Manicaland last month.
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That top officials of the ruling party are on a crusade to nudge Mnangagwa to defy constitutional provisions to perpetuate his stay in power has catastrophic political repercussions for the country which has been isolated by the international community for decades. Refreshingly, Mnangagwa yesterday broke the silence and indicated that he will exit from power after serving his last constitutional term while presiding over the commissioning of a water treatment plant in Manicaland.
Mnangagwa’s litmus test, which if accomplished, would help redeem his legacy which has been marred by a range of scandals, is to walk his talk.
Zimbabweans will be watching.
