President Robert Mugabe yesterday got a major fillip from a South African non-governmental organisation, the Institute for Justice and Reconciliation, when it issued a press release which showed that 63 percent of Zimbabweans trusted the 92-year-old Zimbabwean leader though life in the country was “fairly bad” to “very bad”.
It is not clear why the press release was issued yesterday when it is based on an Afrobarometer survey carried out in 2014.
The survey covered the period 2009 to 2014.
According to the survey Zimbabweans had more trust in religious leaders who polled 75 percent followed by the army with 64 percent.
In 2009 only 35 percent of the people had trust in Mugabe.
Zimbabweans with no formal education trusted Mugabe most (76 percent) followed by those from rural areas (70 percent) and the older generation (68 percent).
Mugabe turned 92 on Sunday and is now the oldest leader in the world.
He is, however, not the longest serving non-royal leader.
In the top spot in Paul Biya from Cameroon who has been in power since 1975, first as Prime Minister and then President just like Mugabe. In second spot is Mohamed Abdelaziz of the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic who came to power in 1976, followed by Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo of Equatorial Guinea and Jose Eduardo dos Santos of Angola who both came to power in 1979.
Mugabe is currently the Zimbabwe African National Union-Patriotic Front candidate for the 2018 elections.
It is not clear whether he will survive until those elections because of the raucous within this party where a group of Young Turks going by the name G40 is fighting to stop Vice-President Emmerson Mnangagwa’s group, Lacoste from succeeding Mugabe, with his wife, Grace, vowing that Mugabe will stay put and she is prepared to push him in a wheelchair to the office.
See also:
I don’t trust a white man at all – Never, Mugabe says
Msipa says Grace is Trashing Mugabe’s legacy
Eddie Cross says end of Mugabe is nigh
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