Noko, a Zimbabwean theologian, in letters to the leaders of the African Union, the Southern African Development Community and South Africa urged them to further increase their efforts “to promote a return to genuine democracy in Zimbabwe and to avoid even worse suffering for its people”.In his letter to President Thabo Mbeki, Noko said the South African leader’s mediation efforts in Zimbabwe must be directed to the wellbeing of the people in the southern African nation rather than to the ambitions of its leaders.
Mbeki has been brokering inter-party talks in Zimbabwe following the country’s disputed presidential election, conducted among widespread violence, but has been criticised by the opposition Movement for
Democratic Change party and some African leaders. The MDC asserts that Mbeki is biased in favour of President Robert Mugabe, who was on 29 June declared the victor in the election in which he became the sole candidate.
Noko said he recognised “the exceptional sensitivity, complexity and risk involved” in South Africa’s mediation role between the parties in Zimbabwe. “But ultimately, your priority, and the priority of all Africans and the whole international community, is for the welfare of the people of Zimbabwe rather than the rivalries and ambitions of its leaders,” added Noko.
Noko said the situation in Zimbabwe “is a moral challenge to all Africans and presents a critical test of the effectiveness of the institutions that have been created to promote peace, democracy, political stability and economic prosperity in Africa”. The history of institutions such as the AU and SADC would be “indelibly stained” if they were unable to act quickly and effectively “to confront the obvious crisis in Zimbabwe,” he wrote.
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