It’s time Mugabe called it a day

It is ironic that 94-year-old Robert Mugabe is now reportedly cosying up to his former political opponents in an attempt to engineer a political comeback in Zimbabwe.

For most of his life, Mugabe followed the one-party state as a religion, with his Zanu-PF party his church. In the process, he brought a once-prosperous country to its knees, ordered the slaughter of tens of thousands of his people and forced millions of others into exile.

Now, he has approached people he shunned or persecuted as he tries to set up a viable opposition to Zanu-PF. He has made overtures to the MDC party of the late Morgan Tsviangirai, as well as to Zanu-PF’s former deputy President, Joyce Mujuru.

Many Zimbabweans feel little has changed in their country since Mugabe was, effectively, overthrown last year by the country’s military and replaced with Vice-President Emmerson Mnangagwa.

Yet, that does not mean people will vote for the man who has become the posterboy for collapse and dictatorship, never mind corruption, in that tormented land.

Mugabe should have accepted that his time was over and endeavoured to repair his mortally damaged image.

By hanging on, he invites an even more harsh judgment by history.

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