In the aftermath of Robert Mugabe’s resignation as President of Zimbabwe after 37 years, the Ranking Member on the Foreign Affairs Committee of Parliament, Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa, wants Ghana to offer the former President and his family asylum.
Mr. Ablakwa, a National Democratic Congress Member of Parliament, is of the view that Zimbabwe may not be the safest place for Mr. Mugabe, despite no reports of violence before and after his resignation.
[contextly_sidebar id=”JWxU7zx87p0qYjs7JAdv3tMSpgdT0CIn”]Zimbabweans instead celebrated late into the night after Mr. Mugabe resigned, via a letter read out by the country’s Speaker of Parliament.
Mr. Mugabe’s 37 years as President was marked by mismanagement that left one of Africa’s most literate country in shambles.
Nonetheless, Mr. Ablakwa said it would be best to simply arrange safe passage for Mr. Mugabe, who he said “stands at great risk.”
“For us in Ghana, comrade Mugabe is really one of us and very fond of Ghana. I believe strongly that Ghana should be extending an offer to President Mugabe and his immediate family to come here for asylum. Let Ghana be a safe haven for him.”
“In these matters, it is better to err on the side of caution. You have seen that the situation is very fluid. It is not clear who is going to take over. At this point there is all of this jubilation, there is uncertainty,” the MP said.
Mr. Ablakwa’s sympathetic comments towards Mugabe follows that of former President John Mahama, who described Mugabe as a great Pan Africanist who will be remembered kindly by history.
Mugabe’s fall
Describing Mr. Mugabae’s fall as a “watershed moment in history” Mr. Ablakwa alluded to the story of Samson and Delilah in the bible, given the role Mugabe’s wife, Grace Mugabe, played in his fall.
Mr. Mugabe once taught as a teacher in Ghana, where he married his first wife who later died.
What triggered the moves to oust Mr. Mugabe, who is regarded as an African independence hero turned despot, was his dismissal of one of his Vice Presidents, Emmerson Mnangagwa.
That move was seen as an attempt to position Grace Mugabe to continue a Mugabe dynasty of power.
This prompted the military to step in and place Mr. Mugabe under house arrest, in events that stopped short of an outright coup de tat.
Mr. Mugabe had previously refused to resign despite last week’s military takeover and days of protests against him.
The ruling Zanu-PF party has now said former Vice-President Emmerson Mnangagwa will succeed Mr. Mugabe.
Mr. Mugabe, aged 93, was until his resignation the world’s oldest leader.
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By: Delali Adogla-Bessa/citifmonline.com/Ghana