Send in the ninjas

Filed under: Africa

Following a brutal crackdown on the opposition, Mugabe has become more isolated than ever. Even the African nations can no longer ignore the plight of Zimbabwe's people, as they have done for so long. Even Mugabe's own party and security services, discontent with their own standard of living and the constant danger they are in by enforcing such a regime, are turning on him. The entire country is about to collapse. What's a lone dictator to do?

Why, send in the ninjas, of course! I didn't know they had ninjas in Africa, but Angola apparently is flush with them. Must be all that recent Asian investment...

Angola is sending 2500 of its feared paramilitary police to Zimbabwe, raising concerns of an escalation in violence against President Robert Mugabe's opponents, it was reported today.

Zimbabwe's Home Affairs Minister Kembo Mohadi confirmed the imminent arrival of the Angolans, Britain's The Times reported today.

He said 1000 Angolans were expected on April 1, with the rest to follow in groups of 500.
[...]
This was the first time there has been such a large group, one source said.

The paramilitaries, notorious for their violence and dubbed ninjas for their all black uniforms, form part of the presidential guard of Jose Eduardo dos Santos, who has been in power in Angola since 1979.

So this is what it comes down to. Most of Mugabe's security forces really are human. They have families to take care of, which is the only reason they would take such a job. But they also live amongst the very people that they repress. Living standards have also gone down so much that the consequences of their actions are no longer worth the pay. They've been abandoning their master -- along with teachers, civil servants, and other public employees -- because the benevolent dictator can't even feed them anymore!

With his forces abandoning him, he must look outside to foreign forces. These are people who don't live amongst the ZImbabweans and don't face the consequences of their actions. It's a typical move used by everyone from the Iranians to the Chinese to repress domestic discontent. But it has become obvious that Zimbabwe is reaching a tipping point. With the church calling for Mugabe to be toppled, and people so hungry that they don't care whether they live or die, mass action is going to happen. Soon.