The former South African president was accused of siding with Zanu (PF) and was widely criticised for saying there was no crisis in Zimbabwe at the height of politically motivated persecution.
Hundreds of people are believed to have died through torture and assassinations allegedly orchestrated by President Robert Mugabe’s Zanu (PF) party. Dlamini-Zuma was part of Mbeki’s top leadership and critics says she is far from being impartial on Zimbabwe.
Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai recently strongly rebutted Dlamini Zuma’s statements that all political parties in the country were happy with the electoral process so far.
Political analyst Alexander Rusero, responding to Tsvangirai’s misgivings, told The Zimbabwean that it was natural that in any mediation process one party would be aggrieved. He said the role of power politics in South Africa could not be discounted from Dlamini Zuma’s approach to Zimbabwe. “She was the only person from Mbeki’s camp to survive into the Zuma era. The lobby by the South African government to ship her to the AU was meant to remove her from the South African political scene. So it is very unfortunate that at this juncture she is at the helm of the AU and she has a role to play in Zimbabwe,” Rusero said.
Tsvangirai recently said about Dlamini Zuma “We know her background but I don’t want to cause unnecessary conflict with anyone. Her integrity as an impartial observer becomes questionable”.
But political analyst Rejoice Ngwenya is of the opinion that Dlamini Zuma was being diplomatic.
“As an African Union diplomat and a senior member of the ANC there is no way she could come out with guns blazing against Zanu (PF), that would be expecting too much of her. What she said was merely an act of diplomacy, she knows that there is a problem,” Ngwenya said.
What had piqued the MDC leader were Dlamini Zuma’s words that “all the political parties we talked to did not complain about rigging or the possibility of rigging in future”. Tsvangirai denied this saying he had raised concerns about rigging with her.
Election Resource Centre Tawanda Chimhini said it was important to look at the AU as an institution and not just one individual. He said any fears should be allayed by the knowledge that the AU’s position would be informed not by the opinion of one person but the organisation as a whole.
“The commission deployed long term observers and these teams have been on the ground. I remain convinced the verdict will be determined by the facts that have been put on the table and influenced by the standards governing elections on the continent. We remain confident in the capacity of the AU to deliver the correct verdict,” Chimhini said.
Post published in: News