Don’t again turn a blind eye to Zimbabwe

It is difficult to fathom President Cyril Ramaphosa’s decision to congratulate Zimbabwe President Emmerson Mnangagwa on winning what was, effectively, a rigged election.

Could it be the fraternal loyalty of liberation movements steeped in the ideology of Marxism? It has now been 43 years since Zimbabwe attained independence after a violent revolutionary struggle. It has been almost 30 since apartheid came to an end, more as a result of international pressure and resistance from inside the country than any armed struggle by the ANC.

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Apart from the ANC’s lack of military prowess, the party has, for decades, had an uneasy relationship with Zimbabwe’s ruling Zanu-PF, because of the ANC’s historically close links with the Zapu party of Joshua Nkomo, sworn enemy of Robert Mugabe’s ruling party.

So, it can’t be revolutionary solidarity. It is more likely to be reluctance to condemn any misdemeanours by an African state for fear of giving racists the opportunity to say “we told you so…”

That seems to have been the reason that our then head of state, Thabo Mbeki, turned a blind eye to previous Zimbabwe elections stolen by Zanu-PF.

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It is extraordinary that Ramaphosa would also apparently not act on the Southern African Development Community assessment that the Zimbabwe election was not free and fair. That is, effectively, turning another blind eye to what is an encouraging emerging defence of African democracy.

As Ramaphosa appears to slide more and more away from his promised “New Dawn” and towards the heart of undemocratic darkness, one is forced to wonder if the ANC will defend any similar abuses in upcoming elections in our own country.

Fortunately, as we have said before, our Independent Electoral Commission is still just that and can be relied upon to do the right thing. It’s a pity it’s not easy to say the same about our president.

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