Zimbabwe’s former Deputy Prime Minister in the 2009-13 coalition government, Professor Arthur Mutambara, has said that the Southern African Development Community (SADC) is not coming to save Zimbabweans and that “we must be are own liberators.”
“This SADC intervention matter is a closed chapter. NOTHING is coming from SADC. If folks are looking for good news, they must go and create the good news,” Mutambara began.
“The relevance of SADC on the Zimbabwe elections ended when President Cyril Ramaphosa congratulated Emmerson Mnangagwa and attended that inauguration.
“That was the END of the discussion of SADC doing anything on the subject. Was that not obvious? Zimbabweans must STOP raising the SADC name with respect to the 23 August 2023 elections.
“It is pathetic. We must be our own liberators. Forget SADC,” Mutambara added.
Mutambara is drawing from his experience as Deputy Prime Minister in the GNU, spending over five years taking part in SADC meetings as one of the three Principals including the late Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai and the late President Robert Mugabe.
At the conclusion of elections in Zimbabwe in August this year the SADC Observer Mission led by former Zambian Vice President Nevers Mumba issued a damning report that the polls fell short of meeting the requirements of the constitution.
Despite this report there has been no appetite by SADC leaders to condemn Mnangagwa’s regime, drawing furious reactions from many including South African opposition leader Julius Malema.
“We have a problem here in Zimbabwe. These members of SADC don’t call the government of Zimbabwe to order, because it’s a group of brothers. That government is violating people there,” Malema who heads the Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) said.
“We cannot have these regional and continental bodies including Pan African Parliament which are not biting on countries that are engaged in wrong activities.
“What is wrong with President Cyril Ramaphosa calling President Mnangagwa to order? It will be coming from a good place. They are all brothers, they are all Africans and they all speak for the interests of Africans.
“So, we can’t have a situation where we have regional and continental bodies that become a meeting of elites without concrete solutions to the problems confronting the people of Africa,” Malema added.
Ramaphosa and Mnangagwa are close allies. When the latter controversially won the August 23 disputed elections, Ramaphosa was among the first presidents to congratulate him.