By Tererai Karimakwenda
30 June 2005

Pressure is mounting on African leaders to do something about the crisis in Zimbabwe, or at least speak out against the human rights abuses that are now central to the debate on aid to the continent by the G8 nations. Blatant as the abuses in Zimbabwe are, and bold as the regime has been by continuing to raid homes while a special UN envoy is in the country, the African leaders have resisted the pressure to criticise their so-called brother Robert Mugabe. They have chosen to ignore the suffering of millions of Zimbabweans rather than be seen to be siding with "the white colonial powers" as Mugabe has cleverly positioned them.

The race card, played by the Mugabe regime to avoid answering for the cruel manner in which Zimbabweans have been treated, has been the ace that is keeping African leaders quiet. And if the United Nations falls for it as well, then it will clearly have relegated itself to the dustbin as the guardian of good governance, democracy and anti-corruption. Many observers say that in this regard Zimbabwe has unwittingly become a test ground for the UN's resolve.
But Chris Maroleng at South Africa's Institute for Security Studies said Zimbabwe will not be a litmus test for good governance in Africa for several reasons. Although its "quiet diplomacy has failed South Africa has been involved in resolving other conflicts on the continent, particularly in West Africa, and will not be judged on Zimbabwe alone. He said Mugabe's land reform programme was positioned as the flagship of social justice and those who speak against it are viewed as puppets of the colonial powers. Maroleng said the G8 leaders are not likely to use what happens in Zimbabwe as the testing ground. 

British Prime Minister Tony Blair, speaking in the House of Commons on Wednesday, said failure by African leaders to speak out against the crisis in Zimbabwe might adversely affect plans to help reduce poverty on the continent, and there is no doubt at all that it is harder to make that case whilst abuses of governance and corruption occur in African countries.
But South Africa, with its "quiet diplomacy" towards Harare, last week said it will not be bullied into criticising Mugabe, and that Britain's approach smacked of scare tactics ahead of the G8 meeting next month.

In a more positive development, Reul Khoza, the chairman of the New Partnership for Africa's Development (Nepad) Business Foundation, said: "The AU and Nepad should be the ones leading pronouncements on anything such as this that causes pain and tribulations to African people."