If Mnangagwa did it, so can Kabila
SADC’s endorsement of the Zimbabwe polls is bad news for Congolese elections in December
We knew before the first vote was cast that Zimbabwe’s election was marred by serious irregularities, such as a partisan electoral commission; 250 000 suspicious entries on the voters’ roll, including one for a 140-year-old man; and the state media’s sycophantic coverage of the ruling party.
Reinforcing these concerns was the narrowness of President Emmerson Mnangagwa’s margin of victory. He avoided a run-off election by just 39 000 votes — a gap so small that even minor irregularities may have tipped the balance in his favour.
The aftermath is no better. The sight of soldiers opening fire on unarmed protesters in Harare belongs in no democracy, and the harassment, intimidation and arrest of opposition leaders indicate that the regime is insecure in its power.
So far, so troubling. But perhaps even more troubling has been the unwillingness of the region to speak out on any of these issues. Instead, the Southern African Development Community (SADC) and regional superpowers South Africa and Angola have rubber-stamped a flawed election and turned a blind eye to the ensuing political violence.
South Africa’s President Cyril Ramaphosa, SADC chairperson at the time, called Mnangagwa four days after the vote to congratulate him, and went no further than expressing his “concern” about the violence, in which seven people died.
João Lourenço, Angolan president and chairperson of the SADC Organ on Politics, Defence and Security Co-operation, praised Zimbabweans for conducting themselves in an “exemplary” manner, and urged political leaders to “rise above the unfortunate challenges of the immediate post-election period”. Ramaphosa and Lourenço both urged opposition leaders to express their grievances through the courts, though Zimbabwe’s judiciary has long been compromised in favour of the ruling party.
In diplomatic-speak, this in effect is a ringing endorsement of Mnangagwa’s election. SADC is saying there’s nothing to see here.
This is worrying news for another SADC country heading into a makeor-break election this year: the Democratic Republic of Congo. Originally scheduled for December 2016, Congolese President Joseph Kabila has repeatedly delayed the vote in a transparent effort to keep himself in power.
Kabila has finally anointed his successor, Emmanuel Ramazani Shadary, better known for his loyalty to Kabila than his record in government. Should he win, Shadary will probably serve as Kabila’s puppet.
They face formidable opposition. Top challengers include the exiled Moïse Katumbi, who was recently denied entry back into the country; Félix Tshisekedi, son of the opposition icon Étienne Tshisekedi; and former warlord Jean-Pierre Bemba, who returned to Kinshasa earlier this month after his conviction for war crimes was overturned on appeal at The Hague.
The December 23 election will be a close contest but Kabila and his placeholder have one major advantage over their rivals: the opportunity to manipulate various state institutions in their favour, including the electoral commission, state media and the security services.
And, thanks to the recent Zimbabwe example, Kabila can do so knowing that the region will not complain about the irregularities on the voters’ roll, the use of live ammunition against unarmed civilians or state security agents rounding up opposition leaders en masse.
In Zimbabwe, SADC once again set the democratic bar distressingly low. Congolese citizens will soon face the consequences of its inaction. Fifa has threatened to suspend Nigeria’s football federation because of government interference in the federation’s leadership. Nigeria put itself on a collision course with Fifa in July when its sports ministry directed the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) to comply with a court order that overturned Amaju Pinnick’s presidency and recognised Chris Giwa as its head. The long-running dispute about who is in charge of the NFF dates back to 2014.
Runner urged to return
There are calls for the Ethiopian marathon runner famous for his proOromo protest at the Rio Olympics to return home, reports the government-affiliated Fana Broadcasting Corporation. “He will be given a hero’s welcome,” the broadcaster said in a tweet. Feyisa Lilesa refused to return home after the 2016 Games, saying his life would be in danger. As he took the silver medal, Feyisa crossed his arms above his head, a gesture made by the Oromo people who had been suffering brutal police crackdowns.
Zambia taxes talktime
Zambia’s main opposition party has condemned the government’s move to introduce a daily tax of $0.03 on internet-based calls. “We wonder who told them that Zambians are using these avenues for free because all we know is that subscribers are already taxed for using social media platforms each time they buy data bundles,” the United Party for National Development’s Percy Chanda said. The government says research shows that 80% of citizens use WhatsApp, Skype and Viber to make phone calls.