Relocate SADC summit from Harare: DA

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…as ED goes on the loose, intensifying crack down on activists

The Democratic Alliance (DA) has called on South Africa’s Minister of International Relations and Cooperation, Ronald Lamola, to urgently request the relocation of the upcoming 44th Ordinary SADC Summit of Heads of State and Government, scheduled for August 17, 2024, in Harare, Zimbabwe. The DA’s appeal follows numerous reports of state-sponsored crackdowns on pro-democracy activists by the ZANU-PF regime.

In a press statement, the DA highlighted that Zimbabwe’s ruling party, ZANU-PF, has launched yet another wave of oppression against opposition and pro-democracy activists, fearing public protests ahead of the summit. This crackdown reportedly includes the detention of Jameson Timba, an opposition politician, along with 77 other activists. These individuals are allegedly being held in appalling conditions and have been repeatedly denied bail after being arrested for participating in what the regime termed an “unauthorized political meeting.”

The DA’s statement also mentions a recent incident at Robert Mugabe International Airport, where four democracy activists were forcibly removed from a plane and charged with disorderly conduct for protesting the prolonged detention of the 77 opposition members, who have been in pre-trial detention for over six weeks.

The DA emphasizes that the Southern African Development Community (SADC) founding treaty mandates member states to uphold principles of human rights, democracy, and the rule of law. The party argues that ZANU-PF’s actions are in blatant violation of these principles and that allowing the summit to proceed in Harare would effectively endorse ZANU-PF’s abuses and undermine the core values of the SADC.

“By abusing state machinery to violate the rights of Zimbabweans, the unrepentant ZANU-PF regime has demonstrated that it is prepared to go to any lengths to violate the law in order to entrench its authoritarian rule,” the DA stated. The party called on South Africa, as a leading SADC member, to take a firm stand and advocate for relocating the summit to a venue that upholds democratic values.

The DA also criticized the upcoming SADC chairmanship of Zimbabwean President Emmerson Mnangagwa, describing it as a testament to the failure of regional leaders to hold “political thugs” accountable.

The DA concluded by asserting that relocating the summit would send a clear message that South Africa and the SADC will not tolerate the suppression of democratic freedoms in the region.

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