The Southern Africa Development Community (S.A.D.C) has organised the 25th of October as a day to protest against the sanctions that was placed on Zimbabwe since the turn of the century. The ZANU-PF led government has used the sanctions narrative to continue looting the country and impoverish the Zimbabwean citizens and not undertake any development of the country using the sanctions excuse. Zanu-PF led government policies has made Zimbabwe to be a basket case instead of the bread basket of Africa that it once was.

First and foremost what the people of Zimbabwe and SADC should understand is that sanctions in their present form have been placed on certain named Zanu-PF individuals and not on the whole country. These identified individuals’ are corrupt individuals who have been identified as beneficiaries of the corrupt government and corrupt systems that have been set up by the Zanu-PF led government.

These corrupt Zanu-PF officials are also the perpetrators of human rights abuses in Zimbabwe. These sanctions were placed as a result of stolen elections, human rights abuses, corruption and because of failure to respect the rule of law by the Zanu-PF government.

The Zanu-PF led government has persistently failed to curb corruption, failed to respect the rule of law, failed to hold free, fair and credible elections and failed to stop human rights abuses that were the order of the day during Robert Mugabe’s regime. The so called ” New Dispensation” has done nothing different or better than Mugabe’s regime to show that it is a true new administration. For Zanu-PF and Mnangagwa, it’s business as usual. And the business that Zanu-PF knows best is of suppressing human rights, stealing elections, abducting even doctors and stealing the country’s resources through rampant corruption.

This Mnangagwa led government is even far worse than Mugabe’s regime in terms of corruption, brutality and human rights abuses. What a tragedy that the people of Zimbabwe are witnessing. What an opportunity that Mnangagwa is missing to make things right or better than Mugabe’s nearly four decades of misrule. Mnangagwa has actually proved to be a worse devil than Mugabe. Zimbabweans have witnessed more abductions of human rights defenders, more people have been charged with treason, more people have been killed on the streets of Zimbabwe using state machinery in under two years compared to what Mugabe did in nearly forty years. And Mnangagwa goes globe trotting telling the world that ‘im as soft as wool’ when he is busy butchering and torturing his own people.

SADC is silent when all these human rights abuses and atrocities are being witnessed in Zimbabwe. SADC was silent on the August 1 2018 and January 2019 illegal killings by the Mnangagwa led government on the streets of Harare. SADC was silent and conspicuous by its absence when xenophobia was going on in South Africa and not for the first time. So is SADC for the people or against the people?. That is the very reason why SADC is now code named Southern Africa Dictators Club because its protecting the interests of the old dictators leading their governments.

There is no valid reason why SADC should be in solidarity with Zanu-PF and calling for sanctions to be removed when the very reasons why the sanctions were imposed have not been addressed. SADC should be calling for Zanu-PF and sanctions to go at the same time. Zanu-PF and sanctions are like conjoined twins and are inseparable. Zanu-PF under the leadership of Mnangagwa has done nothing better than Mugabe and it doesn’t deserve any sympathy from any organisation that is for the people.

Sanctions imposed on those Zanu-PF officials must stay until Zanu-PF is gone. Zanu-PF must reform first and sanctions will automatically go. Mnangagwa hasn’t opened Zimbabwe for business as he wants the world to believe. Mnangagwa is actually a dangerous drive who indicate right and turn left. Mnangagwa is driving Zimbabwe and Zanu-PF into extinction. Mnangagwa should be stopped before it’s too late. No sane leader should be seen going to bed with the corrupt Mnangagwa led government whose only achievement so far is impoverishing and butchering Zimbabwean citizens.

Mnangagwa and Zanu-PF are an eloquent textbook example of How to Not Run a Country. Zimbabwe has been made a desperate and destroyed country not because of sanctions but because of bad governance and poor Zanu-PF policies.

Zanu-PF and SADC should know that sanctions are not removed by marches and demonstrations but by democratic reforms that meet international standards.

Aluta continua.
Frazer Muzondo.
(M.D.C &ROHR UK)