BOKAMOSO
On Wednesday morning, Zimbabweans woke up to martial law after an overnight military coup that saw Mugabe and many of his cabinet ministers placed under house arrest, while the army took over the state broadcaster and disarmed the police. This is an attempt to stop Mugabe controlling succession through his wife, Grace.
The situation is extremely fluid now and we cannot know what outcome will unfold over the following weeks. Yet there is a tangible sense of excitement amongst Zimbabweans, simply because any outcome at all must surely be an improvement on rock bottom, which is roughly where ZANU-PF has landed the country after 37 consecutive years of Big Man, liberation movement politics.
The DA rejects coups as being illegitimate means to assume power. But we also acknowledge that Zimbabwe has been under ruthless dictatorship for years now, an equally illegitimate arrangement. We are therefore calling on the regional and international community to use this disruptive moment to support a return to constitutional democracy in Zimbabwe.
Zimbabweans have what it takes to quickly build a prosperous country, if they unite around common values: commitment to Constitutionalism, the rule of law, non-racialism, a market economy and an honest, capable state. They have learnt the importance of these values the hardest possible way, through personal experience, and they are now desperate for a chance at a new beginning.