The 2024 elections in South Africa mark 30 years of democracy in the republic, and it was right that Zimbabwe President Emmerson Mnangagwa congratulated the people of South Africa and President Cyril Ramaphosa for conducting a peaceful election. Central to any democracy is the electoral process where the will of the people and the constitution is sovereign.
Zimbabwe and South Africa are neighbours, close trading partners and share deep-rooted political, economic, cultural and historical links. The 2024 elections, without doubt, are the most consequential since 1994, and given the special relationship between South Africa and Zimbabwe, I accepted the invitation to provide a Zimbabwean perspective on the recent elections. I will begin with the challenges and conclude with the opportunities from the Zimbabwean point of view.
For the first time since 1994 the ANC has fallen short of an outright majority in parliament and has been forced into coalition with several political parties which has reset the political landscape. One of the most serious concerns for Zimbabweans, on both sides of the political divide in the diaspora and within Zimbabwe, is the inclusion of Gayton McKenzie and his Patriotic Alliance in the coalition.
McKenzie is a self-confessed criminal who served a custodial sentence and claimed to be rehabilitated. But this did not stop him from exploiting xenophobic tensions, targeting Zimbabweans for political gain and in the process committing far graver offences than those which led to his incarceration.
In 2023 McKenzie led members of the PA to the Zimbabwean border with AK47 assault rifles and intimidated Zimbabwean citizens on the Zimbabwe side of the border. This incident enraged Zimbabweans all over the world. It gets worse. McKenzie threatened to kill Zimbabwean citizens on life support in South African hospitals by personally turning off their respirators. These, among many other crimes, could lead to widespread ethnic violence which could destabilise the region, and are punishable by both South African and international courts.
The elections saw McKenzie’s party, which received dismal support in the 2019 polls, rewarded with several seats in parliament, and perhaps the executive, on the basis of the same hate crimes against Zimbabweans that led to the conviction of Charles Taylor at The Hague.
Like many Zimbabweans, I was shocked by the news that McKenzie sought, as a condition to his involvement in the coalition, the position of minister of police, and/or minister of home affairs — both in the security cluster — months after his gang moved on the Zimbabwean border with firearms.
McKenzie has made it known he intends to use his elevated position within the state to put his campaign pledges into operation. I have received several calls and messages from frightened Zimbabweans, who have instructed me to file criminal charges against McKenzie for intimidation and hate crimes, which should be complete within a week.
Should McKenzie sit anywhere on the executive, or be limited to a seat in parliament, he will do so under investigation by the South African Police Service and prosecution by the National Prosecuting Authority. If this fails he will face a private prosecution by my team. If that does not work, the ICC. McKenzie and the PA will not get away with profit at the ballot box on the back of crimes against Zimbabwean citizens.
Should McKenzie sit anywhere on the executive, or be limited to a seat in parliament, he will do so under investigation by the South African Police Service and prosecution by the National Prosecuting Authority. If this fails he will face a private prosecution by my team. If that does not work, the ICC. McKenzie and the PA will not get away with profit at the ballot box on the back of crimes against Zimbabwean citizens.
The DA’s involvement in the coalition, though less controversial than the PA, is problematic.
Zanu-PF is the ruling party in Zimbabwe and is an ally of the ANC. The DA has openly campaigned for the destruction of the ANC, and has taken credit for its diminished position. The DA called for economic sanctions against Zimbabwe, which are inconsistent with the UN Charter, the resolutions by Sadc and the AU. The economic sanctions that the DA advocated, according to US legislators, were aimed at making the Zimbabwean economy “tremble”, which in many ways led to the migration of Zimbabweans to South Africa.
The DA’s involvement in a coalition government in South Africa after previous administrations worked closely with Harare is a challenge.
Zimbabwe is on an unprecedented growth trajectory despite the embargo, because of the policies and abilities of the Zimbabwean government, and its hardworking citizens. They would be remiss if they did not approach a DA-influenced government with caution.
Zimbabwe cannot ignore the DA’s efforts to isolate the Zimbabwean economy to force regime change. The fact that the ANC, a Zanu-PF ally, rightly or wrongly chose an alliance with the DA, does not mean a Zanu-PF and DA alliance is part of the deal. Some pundits have made the false comparison between the Zanu-PF and MDC coalition that the previous ANC government had to work with, and the ANC and DA coalition that the current Zanu-PF government will have to work with. The difference is striking.
The MDC in Zimbabwe did not threaten to destabilise the South African economy, but the DA does not hide from the fact that it advocated the destabilisation of the Zimbabwean economy to remove Zanu-PF from government.
This potential friction, on the basis of what many Zimbabweans have told me, is that South African companies linked to the DA could be Trojan horses, exploiting the benefits of the Zimbabwean market forged by the ANC's relations with Zanu-PF with ulterior or ancillary objectives of affecting Zimbabwean politics, or sabotaging economic growth, in competition for foreign direct investment. These fears, real or not, ought to compel Harare to a protective stance.
In the precarious world of geopolitics, the DA’s position on Zimbabwe, or any other like-minded country in the global south, would be regarded as a security threat that went beyond mere banter by reckless politicians. The economic embargo on Zimbabwe, now relaxed but still present, was not just a cause for concern for the Zimbabwean government and its people, but also for the Zimbabwean military.
This could lead to challenges between neighbouring governments, which before the DA’s inclusion worked well together. This potential friction, on the basis of what many Zimbabweans have told me, is that South African companies linked to the DA could be Trojan horses exploiting the benefits of the Zimbabwean market forged by the ANC's relations with Zanu-PF with ulterior or ancillary objectives of affecting Zimbabwean politics or sabotaging economic growth in competition for foreign direct investment. These fears, real or not, ought to compel Harare to a protective stance.
In and among the risks, set out above, there is an opportunity for the new South African coalition government. The rhetoric of conciliation, humility and compromise should extend to all South Africa’s neighbours, including Zimbabwe. McKenzie and the PA in the security cluster after what they have done to Zimbabwe is unacceptable.
He is not more valuable, politically or economically, than good relations with the Zimbabwean people. If roles were reversed, the South African community would react badly to a Zimbabwean politician who openly threatened the lives of its citizens being elevated to the position of a minister in a neighbouring government.
The DA come across as rational and sober politicians. They ought to accept that the project to remove Zanu-PF from power in Zimbabwe has failed. Zimbabwe is gradually moving out of the isolation Helen Zille had hoped.
The Zimbabwean economy is rising fast. The Zimbabwean government has offered re-engagement on the basis of mutual respect with any party that was hostile to it. If the DA politicians in the coalition government interact with Zimbabwe on this basis, there is hope that the inclusive coalition could work well with a Zanu-PF government.
— Advocate Simba Chitando is a Zimbabwean lawyer in South Africa, and chairman of Zanu-PF Sandton Branch. He writes in his personal capacity.
