Former Zimbabwe’s strongman turns 95 today and even though he may no longer be president, vestiges of his rule still remain in Zimbabwe and Zimbabweans miss him now more than never.
Mugabe’s birthday will not be publicly celebrated this year, and it will simply be a national holiday like any other.
Before his fall, his birthdays were week-long extravaganzas and he would receive cakes that weighed as many kilograms as his age along with lavish gifts including cattle and tributes from regime loyalists.
“Uncle Bob” was toppled from 37 years in power in November 2017 following a brief military takeover that saw him replaced by his one-time protege, deputy and latterly, political rival President Emmerson Mnangagwa.
Immediately after Mugabe’s resignation, there was an outpouring of joy and many people took to the streets to celebrate.
But Mnangagwa’s gloss quickly faded and the economic catastrophe facing Zimbabwe began to crystallise as cash shortages worsened and fuel prices soared.
“We miss Mugabe. If he didn’t care, at least he pretended to,” Harare resident Anita Mugombedzi told AFP. “If what we have seen so far is anything to judge by, Zimbabwe will be worse than it was under Mugabe at his worst.”
It’s a scenario that’s played out all too often when a strongman who has ruled for decades leaves the stage.
For almost all of Mugabe’s nearly four decades in charge, his decisions were unquestioned, and his governing Zanu-PF’s grip on power rarely wavered.
By replacing him with Emmerson Mnangagwa, the military won a factional battle within Zanu-PF, weakening it, and sidelined the once-powerful police force and secret service that were key Mugabe allies.
“Mugabe had his many transgressions,” said main opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) party leader Nelson Chamise. “I see my colleague Mr Mnangagwa making an effort to double the catalogue of those transgressions.”
What’s happening today in Zimbabwe echoes the experiences of other African countries and bears similarities with the chaos taking place in Venezuela, six years after the death of Hugo Chavez.