SADC Summit Overshadowed by Political Repression in Region’s Nations

The recent Southern African Development Community (SADC) summit in Harare is likely to be seen as advancing political repression rather than democracy, particularly in Zimbabwe, where the ruling Zanu-PF government forcefully cracked down on political opponents to prevent protests during the summit. A similar crackdown occurred in Tanzania last week with that nation’s authorities detaining members of the main opposition party, Chadema, ahead of their planned International Youth Day rally on August 12. Despite democracy and human rights being enshrined in the SADC Treaty, leaders at the summit did not challenge Zimbabwe’s President Emmerson Mnangagwa over the repression in the country. The summit also overlooked democratic deficits in Eswatini, where King Mswati III has stalled on initiating a national dialogue following violent protests in 2021. Given the summit’s failure to address these issues, it is bound to create the impression that it supports political repression.

SOURCE: DAILY MAVERICK