National Assembly speaker, Jacob Mudenda, has said he advised late former president Robert Mugabe, who was dethroned in a soft military coup in November 2017 to resign as he would not have survived the impeachment.
Zimbabwe’s long time ruler of 37 years was toppled by the army under the operation dubbed: Restore Legacy with the international community’s blessings.
After the army led citizens across the country in marching against Mugabe’s despotic rule, a joint sitting of the Parliament was convened in Harare at the behest of his party Zanu-PF in order to impeach the former head of state.
It was then that Mugabe finally gave up power leading to Parliament stopping the impeachment process.
Addressing journalists and representatives of civic society organisations during an engagement with them in Bulawayo, Mudenda said the removal of Mugabe was not a violation of the country’s constitution and laws, adding courts also affirmed it was legal.
“I was in conversation with the former president Mugabe and I advised him and said ‘why don’t you resign so that you stop this impeachment because you will not win it?” said Mudenda.
“We spoke over the phone because I did not want him to suffer the consequences of impeachment where he was going to appear before a Parliamentary Committee and the charges he could not escape. Out of reverence I said don’t allow yourself to go through this damaging process of impeachment. He then said, I will come back to you. I think it was around five past one. I think he consulted his lawyers and phoned back and said “honourable speaker, I agree with you.”
He said Mugabe indicated he was going to write a letter to be delivered where the impeachment process was taking place at Rainbow Towers in Harare of which was done.
Mudenda went on to defend the security forces for their actions, arguing they have a duty to protect the country’s constitution.
“It is not a secret that Zimbabwe was now ruled by then First Lady Grace (Mugabe),” said Mudenda.
“She (Grace) said it herself in Bindura and said every morning I summon vice presidents and they come with notebooks and I tell them what to do. Where have you found that in the world, a first lady making vice presidents run? What is that? If she said she did not like a particular minister, that minister would certainly go. Our old man, President Mugabe, had grown so old and was being overpowered by his wife. If you hear the first lady say I make vice presidents run, which Constitution allows that?”
