T.B Joshua was right

There was fear, expectation and trepidation throughout Zimbabwe when the
famous Nigerian prophet, TB Joshua, indicated that an aged and ailing
African head of state would die within 60 days. Zambians thought that this
would be the end of Michael Sata.

Malawians thought the reference was to their detested dictator, Bingu wa
Mutharika. Zimbabweans wished it would be the Commander-in-Chief of the
Defence Forces, Robert Mugabe. Angolans thought that this would be the end
of their unpopular socialist leader, Eduardo dos Santos. Well, now we know
that the poor old man referred to was none other than Bingu wa Mutharika of
Malawi.

Millions of Zimbabweans both inside and outside the country were sorely
disappointed, not because they loved wa Mutharika even a little bit, but
because they so detest their own dictator that they wished it had been him.

The passing of wa Mutharika and the events following his demise contain
numerous lessons for all of us. First, we now realise the significance of
having a clear line of succession which is agreed and acceptable to the
people. The Malawian Constitution provides that should the President be
incapacitated in any way, the Vice President should take over the reins of
power. Wa Mutharika had, two years before he died, expelled Ms Joyce Banda
from the party, but he had not replaced her as Vice President.

Some members of Mutharika’s party tried to prevent her from taking up the
mantle arguing that she no longer was a member of the departed President’s
party. Fortunately for her, good sense and constitutionalism prevailed, and
she was sworn in as Malawi’s President. Malawians must be congratulated for
being the first southern African country to be led by a female President.
Let us hope that the trend will continue and that Africa will finally regard
women as equally capable of leading their countries as men are.

We have two Vice Presidents, but it is not clear which of them will take
over when Mugabe vacates office unceremoniously for any reason. Should John
Nkomo take over, it is likely to be argued that Zimbabweans accepted him
because he is a man. Should Joice Mujuru take over it is likely to be viewed
as aimed at sidelining the Ndebele people in favour of the Zezuru or Shona
people.

It is therefore important that our next constitution, now in the making,
should clearly spell out the succession line to avoid political instability
when sudden death or other forms of incapacitation occur. We hear that wa
Mutharika was grooming his own brother to take over from him, but his sudden
death scuttled the whole sordid plan.