Jacob Zuma, who is still the Facilitator despite Zanu PF’s best efforts to get rid of him, was rather more forthright, declaring at the end of the SADC Summit that leaders in Zimbabwe must stop delaying the resolution of the political crisis. “They are running out of time,” said the South African president.
“They cannot perpetually have unity government. They must hold elections but they must prepare for them.” Zanu PF has once again used the ‘sovereign state’ argument. “We are a sovereign state, no one else can tell us what to do” though that doesn’t stop them accepting aid from the US and EU., both at the top of the list of donors.
Perhaps the real reason for SADC’s inaction on Zimbabwe is explained by the fact that Robert Mugabe at 87 is older than the Tribunal itself. Respect, not always warranted, for age is an African reality not often understood in the west. The fact that Mugabe is seen as a Liberation hero makes it even less likely that the SADC leaders will openly condemn him.
On Heroes Day Mugabe listed the countries he considered friendly to Zimbabwe: China, Russia, Cuba and Brazil. None of them are noted for their adherence to human rights or democratic governance. The fact that the chair of the SADC Tribunal has just been taken over by Angola gives little hope that a solution to Zimbabwe’s problem will be found any time soon. It was, after all, the Angolan government which detained civic leaders when they arrived in Luanda for the Summit.
The death of General Solomon Mujuru totally dominated the news at home and even here in the UK. there was analysis of the political implications of his death in the leadership struggle.
Contacts inside the country tell me that Zimbabweans talk of nothing else but how the General came to die in such a manner. The former white owner of the farm argues that it was impossible for the General to be trapped inside the farmhouse, bearing in mind the number of windows and doors on that side of the house through which he could have escaped. In a chilling reminder of Zanu’s propensity for violence, the Daily News published a list of prominent Zimbabweans who have died in suspicious circumstances.
For some reason the US Ambassador was barred from paying his respects to the late Liberation hero; it’s often hard to fathom the actions of Zanu PF officialdom but this is typical of the vindictive spite they show towards so-called enemies, even those who top the donor list!
Meanwhile, in the real Zimbabwe, outside the bubble where politicians live, farm invasions continue unabated and often with horrible cruelty, wrapping a farmer in barbed wire because he did not chant Zanu PF slogans is one particularly barbaric example. Gangs just arrive at the farm gates and order the owners and workers off. The truth is that the absence of law and order in the country enables anyone who feels like it to take whatever they want.
The ex-communicated ‘Bishop’ Kunonga is actually accompanied by the police as he turns bona fide Anglican priests out on the streets and takes over their houses. This week we hear that Kunonga has won a High Court action giving him control of all Anglican parishes until the matter is finalised before the courts.
Why is this allowed to happen? There’s one simple answer: Kunonga supports Robert Mugabe. Salamao talks of ‘Progress in Zimbabwe’; but he is certainly not referring to the lives of ordinary Zimbabweans. The UN reports 1.5 million Zimbabweans are facing starvation unless food aid is rapidly forthcoming – from those detested western donors no doubt.
Yours in the (continuing) struggle PH. aka. Pauline Henson author of the Dube books, detective stories set in Zimbabwe with a political slant, available from lulu .com
Post published in: News