Crisis of political leadership in Zimbabwe

Abstract

SUMMARY Zimbabwe faces the deepest crisis of its time. The three main impediments to getting out of the crisis are, first, the current kleptocratic and dictatorial rule of President Emmerson Mnangagwa and his ZANU–PF party; second, the leadership and policies of the largest opposition party, the MDC; and last but not least, the operations of the World Bank and the IMF in Zimbabwe.

‘#GodIsInIt’: The Appropriation of Christianity into Politics by Nelson Chamisa in the 2018 Zimbabwean Presidential Election Contestations

“…The follower must have a guiding religious/theological base while also having a political strategy that can lead to success in the coming elections. This also falls into the observation of Zimbabwe’s political parties ‘manifestos and their lack of a clear-cut exposition of central political and economic ideologies, which Chipere (2020) calls the ‘Zimbabwean soul’. Arguably these ideologies can be understood as frames through which political parties can appeal to the masses.…”

“…However, the MDC leader did not deliver on the promise; hence, one follower questions Chamisa on the topic. The follower questions ‘Chamisa’s empty rhetoric’ (Chipere, 2020: 313) and implicitly submit that reliance on God devoid of political strategies is rhetoric and misuse of faith. The use of God in politics should also be accompanied by complementary strategies that can help achieve political objectives.…”

Discontinuity without change? the place and discourse of colonial memory in Zimbabwe’s post- Mugabe Zanu-PF politics.

“…A distinctive aspect of this study is its focus on the political communication dynamics of Zimbabwe's 2018 presidential election, marking the first without Mugabe in power (Matingwina, 2019;Tshuma, 2019;Helliker and Murisa, 2020;Chipere, 2020). Within this context, colonial memory assumes significance in discerning potential shifts or continuities in Mnangagwa's New Dispensation/Second Republic, aiming to reinterpret fundamental concepts such as truth, justice, patriotism, and belonging (Gwekwerere, Mutasa, and Chitofiri, 2018:3).…”

“…Levitsky and Way (2005) locate such regimes as competitive authoritarian regimes whose democratic institutions are in existence but biased towards the incumbent authority. Indeed, as Makumbe (2002:87) Scholars (Hodgkinson, 2019;Rodgers, 2019;Helliker and Murisa, 2020;Chipere, 2020) have explained the military operation in November 2017 as the most groundbreaking transition in Zimbabwe. Its significance lies in the interrogation of complexities which led to the fall from the echelons of party and state power of the long-ruler-Mugabe, paving the way for the rise to power of his nemesis, Mnangagwa as the designate President of Zimbabwe (Moore, 2018;Rutherford, 2018).…”

“…In the context of this study, the 2018 presidential election is significant in that Mnangagwa was availed to represent ZANU PF against his main rival, Chamisa then leader of MDC Alliance. The election was unique in that for the first time over decades, it was the first to be conducted without Mugabe in power (Matingwina, 2019;Tshuma, 2019;Helliker and Murisa, 2020;Chipere, 2020). The key constructs of this theory for this study appropriates political marketing techniques to question the "New Dispensation' discourse in Zimbabwe's post-Mugabe era.…”