Zimbabwe does not deserve South Africa’s sympathy

Zimbabwe, Mnangagwa told the assembled captains of industry, was open for business. It was a breath of fresh air, a departure from the usual diet from Mugabe who had famously told Tony Blair to keep his Great Britain “and I’ll keep my Zimbabwe”. His supporters had cheered avidly amid the starvation.

Mnangagwa went back home and promptly stole the elections. Old habits die hard. The repression has continued apace, even intensified.

He’s called the Crocodile for a reason. How anyone can expect compassion from a maneater defies logic. It was ridiculous in the first place that they could even celebrate his victory like he was some sort of messiah. Lemmings. Like turkeys voting for Christmas.

Didn’t Mnangagwa lead the mass slaughter in Matabeleland? He was Mugabe’s sidekick after all, involved in all the repression, the torture and killings. They could not now complain that they didn’t know who he was. But they believed the lie that he’d changed, that he’d seen the light. Sounds familiar. People will always see what they want to see.

The trouble with Zimbabwe is not that people were oppressed by their own leadership. That’s not unique to Zimbabwe. It happens everywhere, especially in Africa, sadly. Trouble is outsiders were always flying in with readymade solutions for them.

The West, the UN, AU, they all pitched in. SADC almost had a permanent desk dedicated to the Zimbabwe problem. And dogooders also have opinions, an agenda, which may or may not necessarily tally with those of the people they seek to help.

Such organisations always bat for the guy in power. Mugabe was always in pole position. His fellow leaders were always tinkering at the edges, never threatening his status.

Zimbabweans were correct to rail against Mbeki and the solutions he ultimately proffered for their country. But Mbeki didn’t impose himself on them. He was chosen by his fellow Africans as the leader closest to the issue.

In any case, SA had no choice. With Zimbabweans streaming into the country as a result of instability in their own country, it had to get involved. For SA, Zimbabwe has ceased to be a foreign policy issue. The issues are real and have domestic political consequences.

Mugabe may have gone, but Mnangagwa, unfortunately, has picked up the baton and is persisting with his brutal legacy. And SA, as always, is cheering him on. It is, for instance, now campaigning for the lifting of international sanctions against Zimbabwe despite the country not even making an attempt to mend its ways.

The ANC government says sanctions are hurting the people they seek to help. The last time some people used such an argument with respect to SA, the ANC accused them of being apartheid apologists. How times have changed!

For too long SA has treated Zimbabwe like a toddler that keeps straying into the fire. It should cease being the nanny, and let it burn its fingers if it should happen.

Maybe Zimbabweans don’t deserve our sympathy.

They brought the problem on themselves after all by voting these rogues into power. And only they can extricate themselves from their mess.- Sunday Times

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