SHURUGWI — A defiant President Robert Mugabe has vowed uprisings — reminiscent of those which rocked North Africa and toppled four leaders — will never happen in Zimbabwe.
The veteran leader — in power for 31 years — on Wednesday told villagers at Unki Mine people in Southern Africa were different from those from the north therefore scenes of uprisings which resulted in his North African counterparts being thrown out, will not see the light of day in Zimbabwe.
“What happened in North Africa cannot happen here. We know of coups, yes, but people here do not just react like a soccer team.
They just don’t rally on one idea like those in the north,” said Mugabe as he deviated from his speech on indigenisation.
A strong critic of British and American foreign policy, the President accused the two Western countries of instigating the uprisings to further their own interests.
“You can’t just bring your stupid MI6 ideas here and think they will stick on our people. You can see the way they treated (slain Libyan leader Muammar) Gaddafi is the same way they treated Saddam (Hussein).
“They were both killed. People there were actually instigated to do that by Westerners. That will not happen here because people here are different,” he said.
At the height of the uprisings, Zimbabwean forces were reportedly on high alert, fearing similar uprisings.
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This resulted in the arrest of International Socialist Organisation co-ordinator Munyaradzi Gwisai and fellow activists on a charge of plotting to oust an elected government, Egyptian style. The matter is still before the courts.
The President, however, called on his supporters to remain peaceful as the country geared for elections.
“We don’t want violence from within the party,” added President Mugabe.
