Own Correspondent|Former South Africa President, Thabo Mbeki, is back in Zimbabwe and has declared that he is willing to assist in resolving the challenges that the country is facing.

Zimbabweans have not quickly forgotten about Mbeki the man who took charge of the negotiations that brought about the unpopular Government of National Unity in 2008.

He met with President Mnangagwa for over two-hours at State House in Harare yesterday.

Zimbabweans have always accused Mbeki of failing to negotiate fairly between Zanu-PF and MDC when he advocated for a coalition government after the 2008 elections.

His coalition government brought back to the power a defeated Robert Mugabe and relegated election winner Morgan Tsvangirai to second fiddle.

President Mbeki’s rationale was that given the kind of aggressive attitudes of certain western governments in other parts of the world, he didn’t want to see them taking over in any kind of process. Core on his strategy was the question of stabilisation more than democratisation in Zimbabwe an idea that Zimbabweans would not want to hear this time around.

Within the mediation process, using his quiet diplomacy, Mbeki allowed a huge silence around the manner in which Zanu-PF blocked the reform agenda even under the global political agreement and the violence of the 2000s.

In the case of Zimbabwe, the policy of quiet diplomacy was a disaster. If you want proof that it was a disaster you just have to look at Zimbabwe now.

Quiet diplomacy meant a preference for stability over democracy…

“The energy should have been focused on setting conditions to allow for free and fair elections,” Tendai Biti said then.

Zimbabweans are today pushing the same message that instead of wasting time and money on talks that will give Mnangagwa legitimacy, energy would rather be on setting up for free and fair elections.

Can Mbeki guarantee that?