By James Gwati-Zimbabweans are increasingly regretting their role in the 2017 coup that ousted Robert Mugabe and installed Emmerson Mnangagwa as president.

Once hailed as a liberator from Mugabe’s long rule, Mnangagwa has instead entrenched corruption, surrounded himself with criminals, and allowed his family to capture the nation’s wealth.

Today, Mnangagwa openly wines and dines with convicted fraudsters and controversial figures like Wicknell Chivhayo and Maxwell Chikumbutso, while his sons have taken over Zimbabwe’s lucrative mining sector. 

The so-called “New Dispensation” has become nothing more than a front for organized looting.

Yet, history tells a different story about Zimbabwe’s early post-independence years. In the 1970s, Robert Mugabe and Edgar Tekere walked side by side, symbols of the liberation struggle.

Tekere, ever the loyal revolutionary, carried Mugabe’s briefcase—perhaps filled with speeches, strategy papers, and the blueprints for a free Zimbabwe. 

Their mission was clear: dismantle white minority rule and establish an independent nation.

Mugabe’s early years in power reflected this revolutionary zeal. 

His government expanded education, health care, and infrastructure, making Zimbabwe one of Africa’s most literate nations. 

However, over time, his hunger for control led to dictatorship, economic collapse, and political violence. 

Hyperinflation ravaged the country, millions fled, and opposition voices were brutally silenced.

Mnangagwa, once Mugabe’s enforcer, promised change when he seized power. 

Instead, he has embraced an even darker path.

Unlike Mugabe, who at least sought to maintain a semblance of legitimacy, Mnangagwa rules through blatant militarisation and state capture. 

His government is brazen in its corruption, with top officials amassing wealth while ordinary citizens struggle with unemployment, rising costs, and a collapsing currency.

The image of Tekere carrying Mugabe’s briefcase once symbolized hope for a better Zimbabwe. 

Today, that hope is long gone. 

The revolutionary ideals that once united Zimbabwe’s freedom fighters have been replaced by greed, betrayal, and self-enrichment.

Mnangagwa’s Zimbabwe is no longer a nation built on liberation values—it is a fiefdom for thugs, where loyalty to the ruling elite is rewarded while the suffering masses are ignored.

The struggle for Zimbabwe’s freedom is far from over.

But this time, it is not against colonial rule—it is against a new class of oppressors who have hijacked the revolution for their own gain.