We should have learnt by now that our government’s quiet diplomacy is seen by our neighbours as tacit approval
Military vehicles and soldiers patrol the streets in Harare, Zimbabwe. Picture: REUTERS/PHILIMON BULAWAYO
These words were not uttered by President Cyril Ramaphosa in the light of the recent surge in human rights violations in Zimbabwe. This was his predecessor, Jacob Zuma, in 2017, shortly after then president Robert Mugabe had fired his deputy, Emmerson Mnangagwa, who fled to SA. The military ended Mugabe's rule soon after, and Mnangagwa was installed to start what was supposed to be Zimbabwe's new dawn.
If history is to prove any guide, people are right to be sceptical about the Mbete-Mufamadi initiative producing anything worth celebrating. From Thabo Mbeki to Ramaphosa today, SA presidents have been expertly played by their counterparts in Zimbabwe, who have used such initiatives to regroup and sharpen their tools of oppression.
But Zimbabwe’s fuel and food shortage, and an inflation rate above 700%, are the result of one party’s mismanagement. And as evidence has emerged that its rulers have used the spread of Covid-19 as an excuse to crush political opposition and suppress protests, SA has been quiet.
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