WASHINGTON – As leaders from the Southern African Development Community (SADC) gather in Harare for their annual summit, Zimbabwe’s government has intensified its crackdown on perceived “enemies of the state.”
While SADC’s stated mission is to promote regional integration to achieve economic development, peace, and security, the Zimbabwean government appears to be doing the opposite in preparation for the summit.
Reports indicate that authorities are targeting political opponents, student activists, labour organizers, and community leaders in an effort to silence dissent and maintain control.
The Council on Foreign Relations (CFR), a prominent U.S. think-tank, has sharply criticized the Zimbabwean government’s actions. According to the CFR, “In theory, the Southern African Development Community, or SADC, aims to promote regional integration in order ‘to achieve economic development, peace and security, and growth, alleviate poverty, enhance the standard and quality of life of the peoples of Southern Africa, and support the socially disadvantaged.’
In practice, Zimbabwe’s governing authorities are preparing to host the upcoming SADC summit by terrorizing political opponents, student activists, labour organizers, and community leaders—disrupting the peace and security of Zimbabwean citizens in a quest to silence anyone who might point out the way government corruption impedes economic development.”
Zimbabwe has long been criticized for its repressive tactics, with a decades-long history of documented human rights abuses. However, in the lead-up to the SADC summit, President Emmerson Mnangagwa has explicitly suggested that his political opponents aim to disrupt the event.
This assertion has been used to justify a wave of draconian measures, including reports of torture, disappearances, and beatings of peaceful protesters. According to the CFR, Mnangagwa’s narrative is a troubling one: “In his Orwellian telling, his government’s violent crackdown will ensure tranquillity.”
Critics argue that when Mnangagwa and his administration speak about peace and security, they are referring to their own safety and stability, rather than that of the Zimbabwean populace. The CFR notes that “Mnangagwa’s position is as revealing as it is absurd.
When he and his deputies speak about peace and security, they mean peace and security for themselves, not for the people of Zimbabwe as a whole. When they talk about prosperity, they are talking about enriching themselves, not the citizenry as a whole.”
The think-tank further condemns the government’s conflation of its interests with those of the nation, asserting that “they claim that opponents, activists, and whistleblowers are agents of shadowy foreign powers because they confuse their own interests with the national interest. Protecting their access to power and wealth is their entire raison d’etre.”
The CFR also highlights the troubling silence of other SADC member states, many of which have failed to hold Zimbabwe accountable for its actions.
“Too many governments of SADC member states understand their purpose the same way,” the CFR argues, noting that this is why they merely “noted” the significant issues with Zimbabwe’s recent elections and are likely to ignore the ongoing repression in the lead-up to the summit.
The recent South African elections, which saw a decline in support for the ruling party amid widespread dissatisfaction with corruption, might have prompted a reevaluation of governance in the region.
However, in Zimbabwe, the response has been to tighten the grip on power, rather than pursue reform. “In Zimbabwe, the lessons learned have prompted the powerful to cling even more tightly to their privilege, and dole out punishment to the very people they claim to represent,” the CFR concludes.
As the SADC summit approaches, the tension between Zimbabwe’s official narrative and the realities on the ground continues to draw international scrutiny.