( 5 minutes read)
· Zimbabwean President Emmerson Mnangagwa blocked envoys sent by his South African counterpart Cyril Ramaphosa from meeting opposition political party leaders and civil society organizations
· While government has, in the aftermath of the meeting, claimed the three did not have a mandate to meet with opposition parties, the South African presidency had clearly stated in its statement earlier that the special envoys were expected to engage “the government of Zimbabwe and relevant stakeholders” to identify possible
ways in which South Africa can assist Zimbabwe
Zimbabwean President Emmerson Mnangagwa blocked envoys sent by his South African counterpart Cyril Ramaphosa from meeting opposition political party leaders and civil society organizations.
Ramaphosa sent former minister Sydney Mufamadi and former deputy president and speaker Baleka Mbete to Zimbabwe to engage with the government and other stakeholders to resolve the prevailing political crisis. The team included South Africa’s minister of public service and administration Ngoako Ramatlhodi, a special advisor to Ramaphosa in the ruling African National Congress (ANC). Recently, Sadc and African Union, have spoken openly about the need to find a solution to the crisis.
Mbete, Mufamadi and Ramatlhodi flew back to Pretoria soon after their meeting with Mnangagwa, Foreign Affairs minister Sibusiso Moyo and senior government officials at State House, without meeting opposition parties and civil society organizations as earlier planned. While government has, in the aftermath of the meeting, claimed the three did not have a mandate to meet with opposition parties, the South African presidency had clearly stated in its statement earlier that the special envoys were expected to engage “the government of Zimbabwe and relevant stakeholders” to identify possible ways in which South Africa can assist Zimbabwe.
With that understanding of the terms of reference, Mbete’s delegation made prior arrangements with the South African embassy in Harare to organize meetings with the relevant stakeholders other than the government, only for them to be prevented from meeting anyone by Mnangagwa.
Official sources said the Monday meeting was tense, with Mnangagwa strongly rebuking the envoys of breaching diplomatic protocol by arranging meetings with opposition parties and civil society organisations without his consent.The envoys expressed concern over reports of human rights abuses and the crackdown on the opposition, journalists and human rights activists. They told Mnangagwa that Ramaphosa, who is also the AU chair, was keen to know what was happening and what role he can play to diffuse tension.“The president actually accused the envoys of breaching protocol by setting up meetings outside their mandate since their role was to just convey President Ramaphosa’s message and to hear the side of the Zimbabwe government.
