After wining and dining with presidents Thabo Mbeki of South Africa and Olusegun Obasanjo of Nigeria on March 18, Robert Mugabe was convinced he had the big African brothers support to his corral.
He was prodded to entertain this mindset basing on what Mbeki and Obasanjo used to tell the International Community about Mugabe's position on Zimbabwe's political and economic crisis. On Tuesday March 19, the troika, a Commonwealth subcommittee on Zimbabwe issues, comprising John Howard of Australia, Mbeki and Obasanjo dealt a blow on Mugabe by suspending Zimbabwe from the commonwealth council halls for a year.
It was a watershed decision by the troika committee to suspend Zimbabwe after ploughing through a commonwealth election observer group report. Zimbabwe was suspended from the Commonwealth club of former British Colonies because of fraudulent elections marred with violence and intimidation of the opposition party.
The Commonwealth Observer team found that ZANU.P.F. hogged both print and electronic media. The unbridled powers given to the police by a bill bulldozed into parliament was to crutch Mugabe's candidacy.
What does this suspension mean to Zimbabwe? It means Mugabe's government is not recognized by the Commonwealth countries. When Obasanjo telephoned Mugabe about the suspension, Mugabe "erupted."
The stigma of running a country without international support is an albatross on his neck. As if the Commonwealth suspension was not enough, the Switzerland government imposed sanctions including freezing all the financial assets of Mugabe's government officials.
Taking cues from the U.S. government and the European Union, which has imposed a visa ban on Mugabe and his cronies, the Swiss government followed suit. The reason for the suspension was the rigging of the recently concluded Zimbabwe presidential elections.
In addition, the Danish government announced it will be closing its embassy offices in Harare, Zimbabwe, and will be back when a legitimate government will be elected.
With presidential and parliamentary elections on the radar screen in Kenya and Nigeria, the suspension of Zimbabwe from the Commonwealth will serve as a lesson to the leaders of those countries and other African nations. Africa must adopt a new agenda for democratic elections.
Gone are the days when African dictators invoke the yesteryear spirit of African nationalism to cling to power when they would have outlived their usefulness. The decision taken by the Commonwealth, though it was too late to rein in Mugabe to behave like a statesman of the 1980s when he took power. It was symbolic enough to crush his spirits. The Commonwealth demonstrated to the world they are not a bunch of toothless bulldogs.
In a knee-jerk reaction to Zimbabwe's suspension, Mugabe ordered his police force to arrest Morgan Tsvangirai, the MDC leader, and railroaded him to bring charges of treason evidenced in a grainy video. The video was set up by the notorious Ben Menashe, a former Israeli intelligent officer who now heads a public relations firm in Canada. Tsvangirai was forced to pay $1.5 million Zimbabwean dollars and a surety of $3 million Zimbabwean dollars.
This shows the harassment Mugabe continues to use to vitiate the spirits of his political opponents. Widespread retributions on the opposition are continuing after the stolen election.
The idea that Mbeki and Obasanjo were toying with persuading Mugabe to establish a government of national unity will not work in Zimbabwe.
If the MDC agrees to be in government with a strange bedfellow, then that does not augur well for democracy.
The rising chorus of rerunning elections is gathering momentum, and it looks like that's the only way out for Zimbabwe. Zimbabweans need new leaders with a vision, who will build bridges from the past launching into the future with confidence.
Write to Tafadzwa at wmudambanuki@bsu.edu
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