AU ambassador salutes Zimbabwe's peaceful revolution

AU Ambassador to the US, Arikana Quao, said there was no coup in Zimbabwe as the military used a provision of the nation’s Constitution to avert a political crisis. A report on the VoA Zimbabwe site notes that she said there was a provision within the Constitution for the army to intervene ‘because of the conditions on the ground at that time’. ‘We are so glad that Zimbabwe has set an example for Africa how we don’t kill each other. There was no looting, there was no killing. It was a peaceful transition and it’s a good day, it’s a new day in Zimbabwe.'

Meanwhile an ally of President Emmerson Mnangagwa has claimed that he was the one who organised youths and war veterans to heckle former First Lady Grace Mugabe during an ill-fated Bulawayo presidential youth interface rally in November. NewsDay reports that former War Veteran Minister Tshinga Dube said that the move was part of plans to clip her wings, as she had become 'uncontrollable' and 'lacked respect for the party elders'. Mugabe was incensed by party youths who booed her and disrupted her speech before singing Into Oyenzayo Siyayizonda (We don’t like what you are doing).