Out of Africa

In one of my pre-election posts on Zim Decides, I wrote about the inability of the Southern Africa Development Community (SADC) to level serious criticism at the Mugabe regime. Though the situation in Zimbabwe is causing serious damage to the economies and reputation of the region, Mugabe's popularity amongst their own citizens has prevented SADC heads of state from condemning one of the perceived heroes of anti-colonial struggle.

Zambia's president, Levy Mwanawasa, is a perfect example. Though staunchly pro-Western and committed to courting foreign investment, he is loth to further alienate his electorate and embolden opposition parties by calling for Mugabe to step down. Which is why I'm not expecting much to come out of an ' emergency summit' of SADC leaders scheduled to take place in Zambia this weekend.

Last summer, a SADC summit also held in Lusaka failed to make meaningful progress on Zimbabwe. Then, everyone knew the impending election would be fraught with difficulties, but the looming presence of Mugabe toned down calls for constitutional reforms and impartial observers that would ensure a freer vote.

Now, regional leaders - including Mugabe and opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai - will meet to try and chart a way forward in the tangled web of post-election politics. Mwanawasa, the sitting chair of SADC, called the meeting after considering sending a delegation of former heads of state to Zimbabwe instead.

While it's unclear who he might have sent, at least former heads of state - especially ones who fought independence struggles alongside Mugabe - have the political and historical authority to exert influence over the situation.

While the president can forever dismiss current leaders as puppets of foreign powers bent on undermining Zimbabwe's sovereignty, he'd have a much harder time rebuking Kenneth Kaunda (the first president of Zambia) or Nelson Mandela. Criticism from these equally towering figures of Africa's past might be the best (or really, only) way to nudge Mugabe towards a graceful retirement that seems increasingly out of reach.