Does Jonathan Moyo know that Gbagbo was finally captured?
By Clifford Chitupa Mashiri, 13 04 11
The humiliating capture of Laurent Gbagbo in a white vest on Sunday by
forces loyal to his rival Alassante Quattara who won presidential elections
in Ivory Coast must have come as a big shock to Robert Mugabe’s ally
Jonathan Moyo.
Poured scorn
In January Jonathan Moyo poured scorn at the popularly elected leader of the
Ivory Coast Allasante Quattara in the same way he does to MDC-T’s Morgan
Tsvangirai going as far as claiming:
“You have a candidate created by the so-called international community.
Quattara is of disputed nationality, whom the courts in that country have
over the years found him not to be Ivorian’ (Talkzimbabwe.com, 05/01/11).
Refuse to vacate
Despite calls by Jonathan Moyo on Gbagbo to refuse to vacate office saying
‘the so-called international community’ was meddling in Ivory Coast affairs,
Quattara had the last laugh when he managed to capture a very scared and
sweating Laurrent Gbagbo who is said to have shouted ‘Please don’t kill me’
in the presidential palace. As noted by other analysts, the fall of Gbagbo
is a clear message to other dictators to heed the warning from the
international community to think twice before stealing elections.
Contrary to claims by the state-owned Herald, the Zanu-pf leader Robert
Mugabe’s name was not on the panel of five presidents named by the African
Union officials in January to resolve the Ivory Coast leadership dispute.
Immediately after the clarification, Jonathan Moyo, Zanu-pf propagandist and
Christopher Mutsvangwa, former Ambassador to China alleged that the Special
African Union Envoy for Cote d-Ivoire Kenyan Prime Minister Raila Odinga was
ill advised claiming he was a puppet. It was a typical case of sour grapes.
While Zimbabwe’s state-controlled media reported ‘Gbagbo captured’(The
Herald, 11/04/11) and ‘Gbagbo arrested’ (Zbc, 11/04/11) it is not difficult
to see the regime’s disappointment as the ZBC warned that the crisis in
Ivory Coast was not over despite the Gbagbo capture. It is important to
recall that in January, Gbabo sent a special envoy to Harare to enlist the
support of Mugabe, who like him is accused of stealing an election and is
under US and EU targeted sanctions.
Did Zimbabwe supply Gbagbo with weapons?
In March, the United Nations was reportedly investigating evidence that
Zimbabwe’s president Robert Mugabe secretly sent weapons to Ivory Coast in
what was suspected as a move to ‘frustrate Mugabe’s perceived enemies’ like
the US and the UK, since Zimbabwe has no strategic interest in Ivory Coast
(Guardian.co.uk, 04/03/11). Until the UN’s findings are published, many
people will still be asking: Did Zimbabwe supply Gbagbo with weapons?
Although the Zanu-pf Defence Minister Emmerson Mnangagwa said there was
nothing to fear from the United Nations investigation, if the allegations
are sustained, Zimbabwe would be at risk of UN sanctions for breaching an
arms embargo imposed on the Ivory Coast in 2004.
What about South Africa?
South Africa reportedly denied supplying military support to either Gbagbo
or Quattara following criticism by the Chairman of ECOWAS, West Africa’s
regional bloc James Victor Gbeho amid Ivory Coast’s then deepening crisis.
A spokesman of South African defence department, Siphiwe Dlamini said the
warship was in international waters for routine training and was there in
case it was needed ‘as a negotiating venue’ (Associated Press).
After ECOWAS threatened military invasion to oust Gbagbo if negotiations
failed, Christopher Mutsvangwa and Jonathan Moyo quickly warned that
military intervention would lead to a long drawn out conflict in Cote d’Ivoire.
Little did they know that scaremongering was not going to stop principled
world leaders from executing a UN mandate expeditiously albeit debatable for
academic purposes.
Rubber bullets
SADC’s hands may get full very soon if the Zimbabwe crisis is left to
simmer. Swazi police fired rubber bullets Tuesday to break up planned
protests to demand reform in Africa’s last absolute monarchy. Earlier, they
reportedly stormed the teachers union offices firing teargas and using
batons to beat 1000 teachers and students who wanted to march against King
Mswati III (Timesonline.co.za, 12/04/11). Last month trade unions in
Swaziland held the biggest protest seen in years.
In the Democratic Republic of Congo, violence is simmering according to the
BBC on Monday 11th April 2011. Part of the ‘secret’ to Quattara’s success in
removing Gbagbo from office was his own realisation that without the help of
the international community in particular the United Nations and France, he
was going to remain a shadow president for an indefinite period. Hopefully
Zimbabwe’s opposition has learnt a lesson from Ivory Coast about the need to
see beyond SADC. However, it is such a great joy to pose the question: Does
Jonathan Moyo know that Gbagbo was finally captured?
Clifford Chitupa Mashiri, Political Analyst, London,
zimanalysis2009@gmail.com