WITH AN EAGLE'S EYE : Mugabe on his way to another ‘victory’

Once again, if all goes well for him and his companions, Robert Gabriel Mugabe, the man who turned 89 on February 21, will be leading Zimbabwe for another good five years.

If he succeeds in both endeavours, that is, winning and leading for that period of time, he will set a bar close to the one set by Dr Kamuzu Banda, the man who led Malawi until 1994 when he was 96 or so.

The problem with President Banda was that, for obvious reasons of poor record-keeping, he had three different birth years, 1898 being the oldest.

The same problem of poor record-keeping, which was caused by the level of development that the continent had attained at that time, complicated the actual number of the age of the former Senegalese president, Abdoulaye Wade.

When Wade left office in 2012, he was reported to be at the age of 86. However, his “age mates” who were in their early 90s claimed that the man was in his early 90s as well and gave evidence, but Wade never commented on that. The only good thing though about Wade is that, he left office after losing and accepting the outcome in a free and fair democratic election.

Likewise, Banda left office after losing in a democratic election but he was already out of his mind. Furthermore, he was a dictator who believed he had the right to rule Malawi forever. Anyway, he died in 1997, three years after leaving office shamelessly.

Prior to Wade, President Jomo Kenyatta of Kenya died while still in office in 1978 at 85, but again, as we all know, no one knows the exact birth year of Kenyatta. He might have been above 90 when he died in his sleep.

The rest of African leaders never reached 90, the likes of King Ngwenyama Sobhuza II of Swaziland who passed away in 1982 at age 83 or Kenya’s Mwai Kibaki, who left office at age 81 earlier this year after finishing his second and last term.

When he retired in 1999, Nelson Mandela was 81 years of age, just like Kibaki did this year but there is another leader who is still hanging around in power – Paul Biya of Cameroon. The man is 80 years old, apparently not too old for an African leader.

While 90 years of age may be too much, but still age should not be a big deal; it is the process of assuming that power which matters. People want free and fair elections if democracy is anything to go by.

Additionally, age is not a serious problem if a presidential term limit exists and is respected. Simply because one is young, should not be the justification for ruling others for decades.

People are contemplating a lot all over the world, asking themselves why Mugabe wants to rule forever. The right answer could come from leaders like Uganda’s Yoweri Museveni, who normally says revolutionaries don’t like to leave the work unfinished.

So, who determines that the work is still unfinished? Which work, for that matter? Can’t others take over from where the big leader left?

Tanzania’s Julius Nyerere never finished his work of building an African socialist state and he retired voluntarily; so why can’t others do the same? Did Nelson Mandela finish his work in South Africa?

On a number of occasions Mugabe has reminded his nemeses in the West in these words: “Zimbabwe is mine” and he has in principal insisted that anyone opposing his regime is unpatriotic and a stooge of Western powers, and that, according to Mugabe, includes Prime Minister in the coalition government, Morgan Richard Tsvangirai.

The indications are that, Mugabe will not easily honor his word that if he loses the election he will leave office honorably, and that is why the Brussels-based International Crisis Group (ICG) had this to say: “A return to protracted political crisis, and possibly extensive violence, is likely as Zimbabwe holds elections on 31 July. Conditions for a free and fair vote do not exist.”

Unfortunately, ICG is not considered friendly to Mugabe, but will the observation of Africans cleanse Mugabe in case of any claims of fraud? Wait and see!

After 33 years in power, Mugabe and his ruling party, ZANU PF, should have been ready to find a successor rather than clinging to wonders of election. If a country cannot groom someone for such a position, then something fundamental is wanting.

Yes, it is true that Mugabe is still strong at 89, but that age is too advanced for any person to lead a nation, even a small one like Seychelles, a nation made of small islands that are home to 80,000 people.

Mugabe may win again but Zimbabweans need to come up with another name next time. Mugabe needs to rest. I hope this will be his last election.