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Abstract
The November 2017 military intervention in Zimbabwe attracted global attention. The intervention culminated in the resignation of long-time leader, President Robert Mugabe, and his replacement by his former vice president, Emmerson Mnangagwa. Internally, the military action was received with approval, while externally, the international society called for calm while tacitly accepting the intervention which normally is contrary to regional and international norms. This paper argues that the so-called military intervention in Zimbabwe was a coup. The paper notes that the international community welcomed the new dispensation in Zimbabwe based on their vested interests and not international relations and security norms and ethics. The conclusions were made from data collected from a keen following of events on various media, academic articles and interactions with Zimbabweans.
Keywords: Zimbabwe, Robert Mugabe, Coup d'état, Military Intervention, SADC, Operation Restore Legacy
Introduction
On 14 November 2017, Zimbabwe and the world was hit with reports that heavy military equipment have been moved and placed in strategic areas in Harare, the nation's capital. The report, which was first broken on social media, speculated on the possibilities of a military coup. Before this, the Zimbabwean Defence Forces (ZDF) had been a servant of civilian ruling political class, which critics might view as ZANU-PF rule since 1980. The ZDF leadership had on many occasions declared their respect and loyalty to then-President Mugabe and ZANU-PF which had helped Mugabe successfully defy all internal and external machinations to oust him from power (Asuelimeand Simura, 2013). Mugabe had over time become an important institution respected by the military establishment which recognised him as the Commander-in-Chief with the powers to appoint and remove the top military leadership.
All these changed on the night of 15 November 2017, when MajorGeneral Sibusiso Busi Moyo went on Zimbabwe Broadcasting Corporation (ZBC) to give a speech that went thus:
We wish to assure our nation, His Excellency, the president of the republic ofZimbabwe and commander in chief of the Zimbabwe Defence Forces, comrade R G Mugabeand his family, are safe and sound and their security is guaranteed.We are only targeting criminals around him who are committing crimes that are causingsocial and economic suffering in the country in order to bring them to justice.
The speech was an announcement of a...