South Africa

(Zapiro — The Mail & Guardian)

The political contest in Zimbabwe continues to mystify observers. Simba Makoni’s candidacy has legs, which in and of itself is a cause for surprise, and possibly excitement.

A British economist, Professor Gwyn Prins of the London School of Economics, has called for South Africa to threaten to cut off Zimbabwe’s electricity supplies, much of which comes from south of the Limpopo, if President Robert Mugabe’s government continues to intimidate the electorate or otherwise sabotages Makoni’s campaign. This sort of thing (as I predicted yesterday) is all that it takes for Mugabe to accuse any critics, or in this case, Makoni’s candidacy itself, of being inspired by Great Britain. Mugabe’s cynicism is nothing if not consistent, and thus easy to anticipate.

Makoni, meanwhile, has been reaching something of an olive branch out to Mugabe, promising that a Makoni administration will not seek to punish Mugabe for his myriad gross violations of human rights. Presumably Makoni can say little else, lest Mugabe simply crush the opposition candidacy right now (I still fear that this step is coming), but it is still disquieting to realize that Mugabe will likely not be brought to account for his many crimes.

Accusations of Mugabe vote buying continues apace. Meanwhile analysts argue that high-profile Zanu-PF defections sting Mugabe, but should not ultimately destroy Mugabe’s electoral hopes unless the trickle becomes a flood. But the biggest X-factor continues to be both the possibility of violence, especially on the part of Mugabe’s supporters, as well as what role the police will play in either allowing violence to go forward or, worse yet, in fomenting chaos. Police officials insist that the election will be peaceful, but then again, what else can we expect them to say?  

Simba Makoni’s comments last week that “South Africa has not offered any support, and I didn’t ask for it” probably reaffirmed in the minds of many people Thabo Mbeki and the rest of the South African government’s unwillingness to stand up to Robert Mugabe. And yet it seems from where I sit that Mbeki must be aware that he is in a no-win situation. Any word from him of even tepid support for Makoni and  Mbeki runs the risk of opening the floodgates of Mugabe’s considerable and well-rehearsed rhetorical flourishes about Zimbabwean sovereignty and imperialistic outside interference.  And in  giving Mugabe, who is already tightening his grip on power in advance of this month’s elections,  an outside bogeyman  Mbeki almost assuredly would be playing into the hands of Mugabe who would love nothing better than to play the role of beleaguered defended of Zimbabwean autonomy in the face of an outside onslaught. Best for Mbeki to remain silent and hope for change to come than inadvertently to fuel Mugabe’s victory by giving him an outside influence against whom to rally.

(Simba Makoni — UK Telegraph)

Worse news than Mbeki’s possibly welcome silence has hit Makoni’s camp in any case. Joyce Mujuru, Mugabe’s deputy president (long-rumored to be Mugabe’s likely successor), has announced that she is backing Mugabe for another term. This scuttles many of the hopes that Makoni’s supporters had developed in which Mujuru would throw her support behind Makoni as other prominent Zanu-PF members have done in recent days.

Here is a quick roundup of some Africa-related news stories that have caught my eye in recent days:

Despite the fact that the media lives by the age-old credo “if it bleeds it leads” with regard to crime stories, which serves to warp people’s perspectives on the nature and frequency of crime, violent crime rates are actually dropping in Gauteng.

Does the recent peace agreement in Kenya signal better days ahead? Roger Cohen of The New York Times thinks as much.

Robert Mugabe might be starting what he believes to be his “march to victory,” but increasingly members of Zanu-PF are throwing their support behind Mugabe’s intrepid challenger, Simba Makoni. I still do not see Mugabe allowing Makoni to wrest his crown away, but if somehow it happens, I envision many of even Mugabe’s most ardent supporters responding to Mugabe’s defeat in the same way that the Wicked Witch’s praetorian guard responded after Dorothy liquidated their boss: “Hail Simba!”

One trend that I have noticed in American sports is the increasing presence of African athletes making their mark on the playing fields. Many of these athletes came to the United States when they were young children, many others were born in the United States to African parents, and still others found themselves face-to-face with American college coaches whose recruiting tentacles extend wider and deeper with each pasisng year. The usual push-pull factors are at play in these immigrant cases: On the run from war or privation or political chaos, drawn to the idea of America as the land of opportunity. The New York Times has the story of one such athlete, Hasheem Thabeet, a 7′ 3″ center for the University of Connecticut’s men’s basketball team who has become something of a folk hero in his native Tanzania.

Finally, what does it mean to be a citizen of a country? Is it sufficient to be born there? must one’s parents also be citizens of the country? Ireland is one of many nations dealing with these questions, and African immigrants represent the political football being kicked around.