“ED On the Stove” — A Nation Boils as Mnangagwa’s Power Crumbles
By Farai D Hove | Analysis | The temperature of Zimbabwe’s political crisis has shot up to another level. President Emmerson Mnangagwa sits comfortably barefoot on a red-hot stove, draws a sharp and damning commentary on the President’s recent constitutional blunder — the controversial and unlawful appointment of army commander Lieutenant General Anselem Sanyatwe to a civilian ministerial post.
Rendered in detailed pencil strokes, the cartoon shows a grotesquely gaunt and ragged figure, labelled unmistakably as “ED,” perched uncomfortably on a glowing stovetop burner. His face is unmistakably Mnangagwa’s, complete with a sly, sideways glance and draped in a tattered Zimbabwean presidential scarf. Underneath the drawing, a caption reads: “ED wodziirwa se-Datya paStove aisa Soldier kuSports,” which translates loosely to: “ED is roasted like a frog on a stove after putting a soldier in Sports.”
The image is stark, humorous, and brutally symbolic — but the deeper message is anything but a joke.
From Commander to Coach? The Political Backfire
At the heart of the cartoon’s satire lies Mnangagwa’s move to retire General Sanyatwe and redeploy him as Minister of Sport, Recreation, Arts and Culture — a decision that has triggered outrage among legal scholars, civil society, and even within the ranks of the military itself. Constitutionalists point to clear violations of Section 216, Section 208(2), and the Defence Act, which collectively prohibit the appointment of serving security officers to political office without formal retirement, parliamentary notice, and proper handover.
The cartoon captures the moment not just as an error of statecraft, but as an act of political self-immolation — a decision so brazen and miscalculated that it has thrown Mnangagwa himself onto the flames.
A Symbol of Collapse
By portraying Mnangagwa as a withered figure atop a burning stove, the artist evokes the image of a leader who has run out of options, surrounded by heat he can no longer control. The ragged attire and scorched posture symbolize a presidency stripped of legitimacy and boiling in its own defiance of the law.
The frog-on-the-stove metaphor — familiar in African satire — is especially apt. It suggests a leader who has ignored warning signs, failed to read the temperature of the nation, and now finds himself irreversibly in hot water.
The Scarf of Shame
Of particular note is the scarf — once a proud symbol of nationalist triumph and ZANU-PF resilience — now depicted as threadbare and limp. It represents a presidency clinging to symbols of authority even as the structures that uphold them crumble.
Public Humour as Political Indictment
In authoritarian contexts, cartoons like these serve as lightning rods of public sentiment. They say what others dare not, and they often carry more weight than editorials or speeches. This particular piece, credited to “Kirsty Sanivative,” has sparked widespread debate online and even memes mocking the President’s constitutional illiteracy.
A Portrait of Self-Destruction
The cartoon is more than a jab — it is a visual indictment of Mnangagwa’s failure to uphold the rule of law, his disregard for military-civilian boundaries, and his growing isolation from the people and legal foundations that once gave his rule legitimacy.
He is, as the drawing boldly suggests, a leader now sitting on the fire of his own making — and the burn is only just beginning.