Mugabe turns to war-time allies for support

Comment & Analysis
BY CAIPHAS CHIMHETE SUPPORT of the liberation movements that converged in Namibia last week will not make a difference at this week’s Sadc summit for embattled President Robert Mugabe as the region has already taken a position on Zimbabwe, political analysts have said.

They said the two most recent Sadc summits have identified Mugabe and Zanu PF as the “spoilers” and the Angola summit “is there to reinforce what has already been agreed on”.

Sources said Mugabe used the just ended meeting of liberation movements to try and strengthen the loosening bond among the parties so that their countries could support Zanu PF position at this week’s Sadc summit in Angola, where the Zimbabwe crisis is expected to top the agenda.

The Namibia meeting resolved to hold a summit of heads of the former liberation movements at the sidelines of the Sadc summit.

The meeting, which was attended by six liberation war movements from the region, also demanded the lifting of sanctions on Mugabe and his cronies as well as closing ranks against “puppets” of the West.

Those that attended include African National Congress of South Africa, Mpla of Angola, Swapo of Namibia, Frelimo of Mozambique and Chama Cha Mapinduzi of Tanzania.

But political analysts said the Namibia meeting had very little significance, if any, to the outcome of this week’s crucial summit in Angola as the region was tired of Mugabe’s political antics.

Political analyst Alois Masepe believes the meeting of liberation movements will not change the position already adopted by Sadc that Mugabe has to fully implement the Global Political Agreement (GPA) and the roadmap to free and fair elections.

He said Sadc had already identified Mugabe and Zanu PF as the stumbling blocks in the democratisation process in Zimbabwe.

“The mood in Sadc is that everybody is sick and tired of the Zimbabwe crisis so they want a final resolution on this issue,” Masepe said.

“What Zanu PF should have done is to ask for cues from the other liberation movements on how to survive and not to drag them into the mud.”

 

Mugabe lobbying a little too late: Makumbe

University of Zimbabwe political science lecturer John Makumbe believes attempts by Mugabe to lobby liberation movements was too late as they were the same parties that supported the outcomes of the Sadc Livingstone and Sandton (South Africa) summits that blamed Zanu PF for the crisis in the country.

The Livingstone summit, held in March, infuriated Mugabe after his Zanu PF party came in for public criticism from regional leaders over political violence in the country.

The outcome of the summit was further noted at the Sandton summit in July, further infuriating the 87-year-old president and his party.

“This was definitely a lobbying exercise,” he said. “But Zanu PF can’t win this one because the region now knows that Mugabe and his party are the spoilers.”

Makumbe said political pressure would mount against Mugabe in Angola as the region feared riots as happened in North Africa, Swaziland and more recently and closer home, in Malawi.

Zimbabwe, saddled by years of economic decline, repression and gross human rights abuse, has the potential of erupting into riots worse than those witnessed in neighbouring Malawi, he said.

Makumbe believes Sadc will adopt the roadmap to free and fair elections and demand concrete reforms from Mugabe.

“But Mugabe will drag his feet as usual and with time the roadmap would be outdated again and we start again,” said Makumbe, an arch critic of Mugabe’s three-decade rule.

Zanu PF and the MDC formation go the Sadc summit with no prospects for reaching common ground.

Zanu PF’s spokesperson, Rugare Gumbo has ruled out prospects for a lasting solution to the stand-off between the political parties.