Abstract
Leadership is one of the most contentious issues in Africa. Leadership is about influencing people to accomplish certain goals and objectives shared by the leader and his or her followers. Many scholars have attributed the debilitating state of affairs in Africa to the leadership crisis on the continent. As a result, there are calls across the continent for change not merely in leadership, but also the adoption of leadership styles which are proactive and developmental to the needs of the African people. It is expected that where there is a change in leadership, there is improvement in the general socio-economic conditions of ordinary people. However, experience has shown that even in those countries where there have been changes in leadership, such as South Africa, Zambia, Malawi, Nigeria, Kenya, among others, the fortunes of the ordinary people have not been transformed for the better. If anything, the conditions have worsened. The new leaders have failed to break from the past practices of violence, human rights violations, election rigging, use of state resources as campaigning tools, corruption and politics of exclusion, culminating in a phenomenon where there is change without change. Could it be the same situation in Zimbabwe, which changed its leadership from Mugabe to Mnangagwa in November 2017? This chapter analyses the extent to which the new leadership in Zimbabwe which described itself as a ‘New Dispensation’ changed in reality and substance, the extent to which it was divorced from the old Mugabe regime. This chapter is grounded in Paul Collier’s greed–grievance theory, which explains the causes of rebellion in Africa. A ‘coup’ that was staged in November 2017 to remove Mugabe can be explained in terms of greed–grievance theory in which the coup plotters staged a coup because of their greed for power and exploitation of the country’s resources for their own selfish gains, yet they hoodwinked the people that they were removing criminals around the former president. A qualitative methodology was used to collect data with interviews, secondary sources of data such as newspapers, articles, books and other existing literature used as data collection methods.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Agere, H. (2020). Second Republic strives to fulfil promises made. The Sunday Mail. https://www.sundaymail.co.zw/second-republic-strives-to-fulfil-promises-made/. Retrieved January 16, 2020.
Alao, A. (2012). Mugabe and the politics of security in Zimbabwe. Queens University Press.
Al Jazeera News (2020). Zimbabwe Health Minister Obediah Moyo sacked amid graft scandal. Al Jazeera. https://www.aljazeera.com/economy/2020/7/8/zimbabwe-health-minister-obediah-moyo-sacked-amid-graft-scandal/. Retrieved January 20, 2023.
BBC News. (2017). Zimbabwe’s new President Mnangagwa vows to re-engage with the world. BBC News. https://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-42115622/. Retrieved January 19, 2021.
Bratton & Masunungure. (2008). Zimbabwe's long agony. Journal of Democracy, 19(4), 419–455.
Burke, J. (2018). Zimbabwe’s hopes for a new start after Mugabe dashed.. The Guardian. https://theguardian.com/world/2018/aug/02/the-zimbabwe-we-hoped-for-not-dead-yet-dreams-dashed-by-election-violence/. Retrieved March 15, 2020.
Chifamba, M. (2020). Zimbabwe: Mnangagwa's capture of judiciary a red flag for state failure. The Africa Report.. https://www.theafricareport.com/51602/zimbabwe-mnangagwas-capture-of-judiciary-a-red-flag-for-state-failure/. Retrieved December 29, 2020.
Chitsike, K. (2012). Transitional justice options for Zimbabwe: A guide to key concepts. Cape Town: Institute for Justice and Reconciliation. http://www.ijr.org.za/home/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/IJR-Zim-Transitional-Justice-OP-2-WEB.pdf/. Retrieved February 3, 2021.
Chronicle. (2017). President Mnangagwa’s inauguration Speech in Full. The Chronicle. http://www.chronicle.co.zw/president-mnangagwas-inauguration-speech-in-full-2/11December 2017. Retrieved March 15, 2020.
Collier, P., & Hoeffler, A. (2004). Greed and Grievance in Civil War. Oxford Economic Papers, 56, 563–595.
Feldstein, S. (2018). Zimbabwe’s coup did not create democracy from dictatorship. Daily News.
Grossman Herschel, I. (1999). Kleptocracy and Revolutions. Oxford Economic Papers, 51, 267–283.
Human Rights Watch. (2006). You will be thoroughly beaten. The brutal suppression of dissent in Zimbabwe. Human Rights Watch.. https://www.hrw.org/report/2006/11/01/you-will-be-thoroughly-beaten/brutal-suppression-dissent-zimbabwe/. Retrieved March 15, 2020.
Human Rights Watch. (2019). Zimbabwe: Excessive force used against protesters. Investigate, prosecute responsible security forces. Human Rights Watch. https://www.hrw.org/news/2019/03/12/zimbabwe-excessive-force-used-against-protesters/. Retrieved January 19, 2021.
Gramsci, A. (1971). Selections from the prison note books of Antonio Gramsci. Quintin Hoare and Geoffrey Nowell Smith, eds and trans: International Publishers.
Herald Reporter. (2019). President brings new political culture.” The Herald. https://www.herald.co.zw/president-brings-new-political-culture/. Retrieved January 16, 2021.
Hofisi Tinashe, D. (2020). Fortifying Zimbabwe’s ‘Imperial’ Presidency? The proposed second amendment to the constitution. International IDEA. http://constitutionnet.org/news/fortifying-zimbabwes-imperial-presidency-proposed-second-amendment-constitution/. Retrieved October 13, 2020.
Katwala, S., & Mark, O. (2002). Zimbabwe and the Commonwealth. The Guardian. https://www.theguardian.com/world/2002/mar/20/qanda.zimbabwe/. Retrieved January 29, 2020.
Machadu, C. (2014). The sanctions we put on ourselves. Sunday Mail. https://www.sundaymail.co.zw/insight-the-sanctions-we-put-on-ourselves/. Retrieved January 27, 2021.
Magaisa, A. (2005). Smart Sanctions- Who really do they hurt? The Independent. https://www.theindependent.co.zw/2005/11/11/smart-sanctions-who-really-do-they-hurt/. Retrieved January 26, 2020.
Mandaza, I. (2016). Introduction. The political economy of the state in Zimbabwe: The rise and fall of the securocrat state. In I. Mandaza (Ed.), Zimbabwe: The challenges of democratisation and economic recovery (pp. 1–36). Southern African Political Economy Series Trust.
Maromo, J. (2017). Mugabe defeated, but Mugabeism continues to thrive. IOL News. http://www.iol.co.za/news/specialfeatures/zimbabwe/mugabe-defeated-but-mugabeism-continues-to-thrive12118018/. Retrieved December 12, 2017.
Sunday Mail Reporter. (2017). Culture change in ZANU-PF: Matemadanda. Sunday Mail. www.sundaymail.co.zw/a-culture-change-in-zanu-pf/. Retrieved January 31, 2019.
McGreal, C. (2008). We will not let Mugabe be beaten, police and army chief warn. The Guardian. https://www.theguardian.com/world/2008/mar/15/zimbabwe/. Retrieved March 15, 2020.
Media Institute for Southern Africa. (2018). Local journalist harassed and briefly detained at state house. MISA. https://zimbabwe.misa.org/2018/10/29/local-journalist-harassed-and-briefly-detained-at-state-house/. Retrieved January 16, 2020.
Melber, H. (2017). Stopping a dynasty does not mean democracy. Development and Cooperation (D+C). http://www.dandc.eu/en/article/mugabe-era-over-mugabeism-likely-live/. Retrieved December 19, 2017.
Mlambo Alois, S. (2017). From an industrial powerhouse to a nation of street vendors: Over two decades of economic decline and deindustrialisation in Zimbabwe 1990-2015. Journal of Developing Societies, 33(1), 99–125. 101177/0169796X17694518
Molloy, D., Emma, O., Chothia F., & Olewe, D. (2017). As it happened: Mugabe resigns. dancing breaks out as Mugabe resigns. British Broadcasting Corporation. https://www.bbc.com/news/live/world-africa-42063744/. Retrieved March 20, 2020.
Msipa, L. (2018). Mnangagwa silences critics with new cabinet. The Herald. https://www.herald.co.zw/mnangagwa-silences-critics-with-new-cabinet/. Retrieved January 30, 2021.
Muchagoneyi, D. (2020). Zim launches new economic blueprint. The Southern Times. https://southerntimesafrica.com/site/news/zim-launches-new-economic-blueprint/. Retrieved January 8, 2021.
Muleya, D. (2016). Mugabe versus the military. The Independent. https://www.theindependent.co.zw/2016/06/17/mubabe-versus-military/. Retrieved March 15, 2020.
News24. (2018). Update. Zim police arrest union leaders ahead of planned protests’ Reports say News24 https://www.news24.com/news24/Africa/Zimbabwe/update-zim-police-arrest-labour-union-leaders-ahead-of-planned-protests-reports-say-20181011/. Retrieved January 18, 2020.
Newsday. (2018). We removed Mugabe not the ZANU PF system. Newsday. https://www.newsday.co.zw/2018/07/we-removed-mugabe-not-the-zanu-pf-system/. Retrieved March 15, 2020.
Noyes, H. A. (2020). A new Zimbabwe? Assessing continuity and change after Mugabe. Rand Corporation. https://www.rand.org/content/dam/rand/pubs/research_reports/RR4300/RR4367/RAND_RR4367.pdf/. Retrieved January 30, 2021.
Pan Africanism Today Secretariat. (2020). Systemic corruption, mismanagement worsen Zimbabwe's economic crisis. Pan Africanism Today Secretariat. https://peoplesdispatch.org/2020/08/12/systemic-corruption-mismanagement-worsen-zimbabwes-economic-crisis/. Retrieved December 29, 2020.
Petroff, A. (2017). How Mugabe killed one of Africa’s richest economies. CNN News https://money.cnn.com/2017/11/15/news/economy/zimbabwe-economy-mugabe-history/index.html/. Retrieved March 15, 2020.
Pindula News. (2017). Full Text: Dewa Mavhinga’s Testimony Before The United States Senate Committee on Foreign Relations. Pindula News. https://www.news.pindula.co.zw/2017b/12/13/full-text-dewa-mavhingas-testimony-united-states-senate-committee-foreign-relations/. Accessed 2 February 2020. Retrieved February 2, 2020.
Political Editor. (2020). We are in the right direction: Mangwana. The Herald. https://www.herald.co.zw/were-in-right-direction-mangwana/. Retrieved January 20, 2021.
Rogers, D. (2019). Two weeks in november. The astonishing story of the operation that toppled mugabe. Virginia.
Robertson, J. (2019). Mnangagwa sold the world snake oil, He is the same or worse than Mugabe. Zimeye. https://www.zimeye.net/2019/01/28/mnangagwa-sold-the-world-snake-oil-he-is-the-same-or-even-worse-than-mugabe-economist/. Retrieved January 27, 2021.
SABC News (2018). Mnangagwa urges Zimbabweans to stop blaming western sanctions for failures SABC News. https://www.sabcnews.com/sabcnews/mnangagwa-urges-zimbabweans-stop-blaming-western-sanctions-failures/. Retrieved January 30, 2021.
Samaita, K. (2019). British Minister for Africa calls for more sanctions against Zimbabwe. Business Day. https://www.businesslive.co.za/bd/world/africa/2019-02-05-britains-minister-for-africa-calls-for-more-sanctions-against-zimbabwe/. Retrieved January 7, 2021.
Shumba, T (2019). Maridadi’s appointment evidence of inclusivity. The Herald. https://www.herald.co.zw/maridadis-appointment-evidence-of-inclusivity/. Retrieved January 30, 2021.
Southall, R. (2017). Bob’s out, the Croc is in: Continuity or Change in Zimbabwe? Africa Spectrum, 52(3), 81–94.
Staff Reporter. (2019). Government introduces ZUPCO in towns. The Zimbabwe Mail. https://www.thezimbabwemail.com/business/government-introduces-zupco-in-towns/. Retrieved January 30, 2021.
The Insider. (2019). Britain to take Zimbabwe case to the United Nations. The Insider. https://www.insiderzim.com/britain-to-take-zimbabwe-case-to-the-united-nations/. Retrieved January 8, 2021.
The Observer. (2017). This is our second independence-We want a new Zimbabwe. Tens of thousands of jubilant citizens on the streets of Harare celebrate peaceful takeover. The Guardian. https://www.theguardian.com/world/2017/nov/18/independence-day-zimbabwe-mugabe-harare/. Retrieved March 15, 2020.
The Staff Reporter. (2018). Information Ministry speaks on detention and harassment of journalist Violet Gonda at State House by CIO agents. The Zimbabwe Mail. https://www.thezimbabwemail.com/editors-memo-pad/information-ministry-speaks-on-detention-and-harassment-of-journalist-violet-gonda-at-state-house-by-cio-agents/. Retrieved January 16, 2021.
Transparency International. (2020). As Southern Africa grapples with corruption and COVID-19, journalists and civil society sufer for exposing corruption. Transparency International. https://www.transparency.org/en/news/as-southern-africa-grapples-with-corruption-and-covid-19-journalists-and-civil-society-suffer-retaliation-for-exposing-corruption/. Retrieved December 29, 2020.
UK Parliament. (2019). Zimbabwe. UK Parliament Hansard, Vol. 653, UK Parliament. https://hansard.parliament.uk/commons/2019-01-30/debates/93C7CC8B-4AC6-4BD1-9278-A6122A767554/Zimbabwe/. Retrieved January 19, 2021.
Veritas. (2018). MPs and senators declared elected after 30 July 2018 harmonised elections. Veritas, July 2018. http://veritaszim.net/node/3107/. Retrieved January 16, 2021.
Veritas. (2021). Malaba CJ retirement case: Full High Court Judgement in Kika v Minister of Justice & Ors; YLAZ v JSC& Ors, HH 264–21. Veritas. https://www.veritaszim.net/node/5013/. Retrieved March 20, 2023.
Vinga, A. (2020). Ex- Zifa Boss Henrieta Rushwaya arrested while trying to board plane with 6kg of gold. New Zimbabwe. https://www.newzimbabwe.com/ex-zifa-boss-henrietta-rushwaya-arrested-while-trying-to-board-plane-with-6kg-gold/. Retrieved March 20, 2023.
VOA News. (2020). Zimbabwe president fires energy minister. Voice of America News. https://www.voazimbabwe.com/a/zimbabwe-fortune-chasi-fired-emmerson-mnangagwa/5544110.html/. Retrieved January 30, 2021.
Zimbabwe Constitution. (2013)
Zimbabwe Democracy and Economic Recovery Act (ZIDERA). (2001). Public Law 107-99-Dec 21-2001.
Zimeye (2018). Mnangagwa dishes out 90 brand new cars to chiefs. Zimeye. https://www.zimeye.net/2018/08/28/mnangagwa-dishes-out-90-brand-new-cars-to-chiefs/. Retrieved January 16, 2021.
Zimeye. (2023). Mnangagwa bribes chiefs with cars ahead of elections. Zimeye. https://www.zimeye.net/2023/03/16/mnangagwa-bribes-chiefs-with-cars-ahead-of-elections/. Retrieved March 20, 2023.
Zimbabwe Human Rights NGO Forum. (2019). The new deception. what has changed? A baseline study on the record of the Zimbabwe’s new dispensation in upholding human rights. Zimbabwe Human Rights NGO Forum.
Zulu, B. (2011). Zimbabwe Army Chief Calls Prime Minister Tsvangirai a Security Threat. Voice of America Zimbabwe. https://www.voazimbabwe.com/a-zimbabwe-army-chief-calls-pm-tsvangirai-a-security-threat-124437939/1463323.html/. Retrieved March 15, 2020.
Interviews
Interview with a Harare resident, Makanaka, 15 March 2022.
Interview with a Harare Resident (Tapiwa), 30 March 2022.
Interview with Harar Commuter, Memory, 30 January 2020.
Interview with a Harare Resident, Everjoy, 15 October 2022.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2023 The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Mazorodze, W. (2023). Political Leadership in Zimbabwe in the Aftermath of the Military Coup. Change Without Change?. In: Chari, T., Dzimiri, P. (eds) Military, Politics and Democratization in Southern Africa. Advances in African Economic, Social and Political Development. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-35229-4_4
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-35229-4_4
Published:
Publisher Name: Springer, Cham
Print ISBN: 978-3-031-35228-7
Online ISBN: 978-3-031-35229-4
eBook Packages: Political Science and International StudiesPolitical Science and International Studies (R0)