Zimbabwe's 'poor' rights record clouds SADC summit

Zimbabwe is hosting the Southern African Development Community summit this weekend for the first time in a decade, with President Emmerson Mnangagwa assuming the chair of the 16-member bloc at the meeting.

The SADC's major goals are to reduce poverty, improve the standard of living for the people of southern Africa, promote economic development, peace, security, and growth, and assist the socially disadvantaged through regional integration.

Mnangagwa's administration, though, has come under a lot of scrutiny for several human rights violations and a crackdown on his political opponents.

The United Nations Human Rights Office of the High Commission has called for the immediate release of human rights defenders, who have been detained for two weeks.

Rights activist and feminist Namatai Kwekweza, teachers' union leader Robson Chere — the secretary general of Amalgamated Rural Teachers Union of Zimbabwe — and Harare municipal councilor Samuel Gwenzi were forcibly removed from a departing flight at Harare airport last month and whisked away by unidentified men.

The UN said in a statement that "the three were reportedly subjected to enforced disappearance, torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment, including waterboarding."

The charges against the three relate to alleged participation in a demonstration calling for the release of a detained opposition politician. "The enforced disappearance, incommunicado detention and torture, followed by the arbitrary detention of these human rights defenders is inexcusable, and not only violates international human rights law but also makes a mockery of the safeguards contained in Zimbabwe's own constitution," said a statement by a team of UN human rights experts.

However, Zimbabwe Home Affairs minister Kazembe Kazembe has defended the government's actions. "The attempt of making Zimbabwe ungovernable would be met with benefiting responses. Let those seeking to create an atmosphere of despondency among peace-loving citizens be warned that such antics would not be tolerated," Kazembe told the media.

SADC 'not tackling' human rights violations 

Several other SADC members, including Tanzania and Angola, have also faced recent backlash for rights violations.

Thuso Khumalo, DW correspondent in South Africa, said there is a general belief that the SADC has done very little to tackle human rights violations within member states.

"You talk of Zimbabwe, you talk of Lesotho,  you talk of Eswatini, where human rights have just been depleted to an extent whereby people have been killed when they were trying to correct the situation," said Khumalo, adding that many people within the SADC region believe the bloc often protects regimes despite allegations of rights abuses. "That applies to Zimbabwe."

International relations and security expert Fidel Amakye Owusu told DW that the SADC stands to gain significantly if it can implement reforms that protect human rights. He noted that the region had gained much from its past political and economic stability, key elements needed for economic growth.

"If you look at SADC, much of the stability there has been due to its history and the dawn of the end of the Cold War," said Owusu.

"These countries happened to have the civilian leaders put the military under effective control, which is the difference between SADC and what we see in Central Africa and West Africa."

Recipe for economic growth

Owusu said with proper leadership, the SADC can deliver the economic growth it desires for its population.

On average, nearly 40% of the population in the SADC region lives under the poverty line. The unemployment rate stands at around 13%.

SADC leaders want to improve that situation by promoting innovation that can push the region's industrialization, a key agenda at this weekend's summit.

"If you look at economic development, the southern African region is much better than West Africa in terms of infrastructure, in terms of job creation, in terms of even the kind of political participation, which is also part of the sociopolitical dimension of this discussion as well," added Owusu.

Deepening political stability

SADC hasn't experienced much of the political instability recorded in West Africa, but Owusu stressed that the SADC must protect and cherish that stability if it is to achieve its desired economic growth agenda.

"Southern Africa does it better than West Africa [when it comes to political and democratic stability]," he said. "Except for maybe Angola and Mozambique, most of the countries in the southern African region have had [peaceful] political transitions that could otherwise be tumultuous as we've seen in other regions in Africa."

Meanwhile, a recent diplomatic row between SADC member state neighbors Zambia and Zimbabwe has raised eyebrows.

A comment by Zimbabwe's President Mnangagwa during his recent visit to Russia triggered strong reactions from Zambia. Mnangagwa had accused the United States of using Zambia as a tool to isolate Zimbabwe within the southern African region.

Tensions have been high in Zambia, with the government hoping the regional bloc can intervene and resolve the row.

Zambia's foreign minister, Mulambo Haimbe, has already forcefully responded to Mnangagwa's accusations, describing the comments as an "unwarranted attack" on Zambia's sovereignty and independent foreign policy.

Edited by: Chrispin Mwakideu