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WASHINGTON — As leaders of the Southern African Development Community (SADC) gathered in Harare for their annual summit, the Zimbabwean government stepped up its crackdown on so-called “enemies of the state.”
While the SADC’s stated mission is to promote regional integration and achieve economic development, peace and security, the Zimbabwean government appears to be doing the opposite as it prepares for the summit.
Reports indicate that authorities are targeting political opponents, student activists, labor organizers, and community leaders to suppress dissent and maintain control.
The Council on Foreign Relations (CFR), a well-known US think tank, has harshly criticized the Zimbabwean government’s actions. According to the CFR, “In theory, the Southern African Development Community (SADC) aims to promote regional integration, ‘achieve economic development, peace and security and growth, reduce poverty, improve the standard and quality of life of the people of Southern Africa, and support the vulnerable groups in society’.”
In fact, as Zimbabwe’s ruling authorities prepare to host the upcoming Southern African Development Community summit, they are intimidating political opponents, student activists, labor organizers and community leaders, disrupting the peace and security of Zimbabwean citizens in an effort to silence anyone who might point out that government corruption is hindering economic development.”
Zimbabwe has long been criticised for its repressive tactics, with decades of documented human rights abuses. However, on the eve of the SADC summit, President Emmerson Mnangagwa made it clear that his political opponents aimed to derail the event.
This claim has been used to justify a range of harsh measures, including reports of torture, disappearances and beatings of peaceful protesters. According to CFR, Mnangagwa’s narrative is disturbing: “In his Orwellian narrative, his government’s violent repression will ensure tranquility.”
Critics argue that when Mnangagwa and his government talk about peace and security, they are referring to their own security and stability, not that of the Zimbabwean public. CFR noted that “Mnangagwa’s position is both absurd and revealing.
When he and his deputies talk about peace and security, they mean their own peace and security, not the peace and security of all Zimbabweans. When they talk about prosperity, they mean enriching themselves, not enriching all citizens.”
The think tank further accused the government of confusing its own interests with the national interest, stating that “they claim that opponents, activists and whistleblowers are agents of foreign powers because they confuse their own interests with the national interest. Protecting their access to power and wealth is their entire raison d’être.”
The Council on Foreign Relations also highlighted the disturbing silence of other SADC member states, many of which have failed to hold Zimbabwe accountable for its actions.
“Too many SADC governments understand their purpose in the same way,” the Council on Foreign Relations argues, which is why they have merely “noted” the significant problems in Zimbabwe’s recent elections and are likely to ignore the ongoing crackdown on the eve of the summit.
In the recent South African general election, the ruling party’s popularity declined due to widespread dissatisfaction with corruption, which may prompt a reassessment of governance in the region.
In Zimbabwe, however, the government’s response has been to tighten its grip on power rather than to reform. “In Zimbabwe, the lessons learned have prompted those in power to hold on even tighter to their privileges and to punish the people they claim to represent,” CFR concluded.
As the Southern African Development Community summit approaches, the tension between Zimbabwe’s official narrative and the reality on the ground continues to attract international attention.
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