“IN a show of solidarity with Zimbabwe, two principal members of the Southern Africa Development Community (SADC) Organ on Politics, Defence and Security — except Zambia — have endorsed President Mnangagwa’s victory in last week’s harmonised elections, further exposing the discredited Preliminary Report produced by the Sadc Electoral Observer Mission (SEOM) led by Dr Nevers Mumba.”
The SADC Troika, which is responsible for promoting peace and security in the region, is currently chaired by Zambian President Hakainde Hichilema and the other two members are Namibia (immediate past chairperson) and Tanzania (deputy chairperson).
Namibia and Tanzania have since endorsed President Mnangagwa and pledged to continue working with the Second Republic, leaving Dr Mumba and his handlers with egg on their faces.
Dr Mumba, who was appointed to head the Mission by President Hichilema, released a discredited and biased preliminary report that is likely to be thrown out at the next SADC Summit.
On Sunday, Namibian President Hage Geingob was the first regional leader to congratulate President Mnangagwa on his re-election, describing the polls as “peaceful”.
In a statement, President Geingob expressed confidence in President Mnangagwa’s leadership, highlighting his expectation that Zimbabwe would continue to progress on a trajectory of peace, stability, and prosperity.
The Namibian President further affirmed his commitment to collaborating closely with President Mnangagwa to enhance bilateral relations between their respective countries.
“I wish to extend my heartfelt congratulations to His Excellency, President Emmerson Dambudzo Mnangagwa, on his re-election as the President of the Republic of Zimbabwe,” President Geingob said. “I am confident that under your leadership, Zimbabwe will persist in its pursuit of peace, stability and prosperity.”
“On behalf of the Government and the people of the United Republic of Tanzania, I extend my heartfelt congratulations to his Excellency, President @edmnangagwa, on being re-elected as the President of the Republic of Zimbabwe,” wrote Dr Samia on X (formerly Twitter).
Political analysts have described Dr Mumba as an imperialist puppet and have questioned his appointment as head of the SADC Electoral Observer Mission.
Socialist Party of Zambia leader Mr Fred M’membe said Dr Mumba’s appointment was questionable from the start.
“Why did Mr Hichilema, in his capacity as incoming chair of the Troika, appoint Mr Nevers Mumba to head the SADC Electoral Observer Mission (SEOM) given his known and close ties to both Mr Nelson Chamisa, one of the presidential candidates in the just ended Zimbabwean election, and to Hichilema, who himself is very close to the CCC leader?” he said.
Mr M’membe said although the ultra-urgency that Mr Hichilema demonstrated when appointing Dr Mumba was in itself curious, what was most striking and raises questions about his judgment was the choice of a person whose impartiality was always going to be questioned, to lead the Mission.
“But that is how betrayal is; hypocrisy, treachery and ignorance can be very big problems, but they all have limits to their power and influence. What Mr Hichilema forgot was that he could only masquerade or present his fake image to the region and the world for a short period before shame visited him.
“Clearly, hiding his true identity as an imperialist puppet has lamentably failed. We hope he has learnt something from this mistake,” he said.
Meanwhile, SADC has removed Dr Mumba, a former convict, from the Panel of Elders team which is meant to ‘clean up’ the mess that the beleaguered Zambian has created in Zimbabwe.
Mr Charles Tibone, a member of the Panel of Elders from Botswana, is already in the country to lead the process.
The Elders are in Zimbabwe at the invitation of the Government in the wake of the harmonised elections held last week.
All members of the SEOM will be assisting the Panel of Elders except Dr Mumba.
The latest development comes at a time when the Government has raised concern over Dr Mumba’s questionable Preliminary Report.
The Government said Dr Mumba failed to declare his inclinations when he assumed his role as the head of the election observer mission and his personal interests were apparent in the Preliminary Report.
The Government has also since raised concerns over the Preliminary Report of the European Union (EU) Election Observer Mission, saying the team overstepped in executing its mandate as some of its observations were based on hearsay, as opposed to direct observation.
Zimbabwe held harmonised elections last Wednesday with the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (ZEC) declaring President Mnangagwa the winner of the presidential election after garnering 52,6 percent of the total vote.
Citizens Coalition of Change president Mr Nelson Chamisa came a distant second with 44 percent of the votes.
However, Mr Chamisa has rejected the election results claiming that the poll was stolen despite his failure to validate his assertion. – Herald
