Be careful what you wish for: Mugabe's ouster has left Zimbabwe in chaos

When Zimbabweans celebrated after the military toppled Robert Mugabe in late 2017, few could have foreseen that just over a year later their economy would be collapsing and soldiers would be on the streets.

It’s a scenario that’s played out all too often when a strongman who has ruled for decades leaves the stage.

For almost all of Mugabe’s nearly four decades in charge, his decisions were unquestioned, and his ruling Zimbabwe African National Union-Patriotic Front’s grip on power rarely wavered. By replacing him with Emmerson Mnangagwa, the military won a factional battle within ZANU-PF, weakening it, and sidelined the once-powerful police