No tears for Nkosazana Zuma's failed bid for the AU's top job

Zimbabweans should feel a great sense of relief that South Africa's Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma, former wife of President Jacob Zuma failed to make it to the African Union's top post yesterday in Addis Ababa.

Relief because Robert Mugabe's sidekick failed to get the AU leadership vote amid pressure from serial political flip-flopper Jonathan Moyo for polls regardless of the need for a level playing field.

Zanu-PF hardliners had been desperate for a sympathetic voice at the African Union in addition to Jacob Zuma's security council role at the UN, in their push for early polls before a referendum on a new constitution, reforming of, inter alia, the security sector, electoral law, human rights law, media law, presidential powers and the voters roll.
 
Contrary to assertions from South Africa that Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma will vie for the African Union's top job in the next election in six months time after failing in her bid for the post, neither she nor Jean Ping of Gabon will be eligible to run then.

"Nothing stops us from fielding the same candidate because she has shown or proven to be a formidable candidate that the incumbent could not defeat," South Africa's International Relations Minister Maite Nkoane Mashabane said in a statement (SAPA/Bulawayo24.com, Loser Dlamini Zuma to vie for AU top job again).

One would have thought that Minister Mashabane would have been properly briefed by her officials that according to the rules of the African Union neither Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma nor Jean Ping can stand again at the next election expected in July in Malawi.

In any case, there is need for younger candidates given that Ping is 69 and Zuma is 62, there is no sound reason why the AU's top post should necessarily go to people who are in the age range for retirement and might not cope with the demands of geopolitics in the fast moving information age.

Consequently, this leaves the race wide open to fresh blood and probably more suitable candidates ideally from pro-democracy countries like Kenya, Ivory Coast, Tunisia or the NTC's Libya in the same way former liberation movements were the ideal candidates in the 1970s and 80s.

Far from being a mere Francophone and Anglophone issue, there are many plausible reasons cuttingâ€"across language barriers, why the vote for Africa's new chief was indecisive.

Whereas Ping's juggling of the diverse views of the 54-member AU during the Libyan crisis may have cost him votes especially among Gaddafi sympathisers like Zimbabwe and South Africa,  Nkosazana Zuma, was haunted by what others see as her country's 'big brother' attitude towards smaller states.

"There is considerable fear and resentment about South Africa's role," said Steven Friedman, a political analyst and director of the Centre for the Study of Democracy (New York Times, Vote for African Union's Leader Hits Stalemate).

Major African nations like Nigeria and Kenya had reservations about giving so much power to South Africa, while smaller nations feared for their interests.

Smaller countries allege Zuma's candidacy broke an unwritten rule that the continent's dominant states do not contest the leadership (Chicago Tribune, African Union Fails to elect new chief).

President Jacob Zuma has been criticised for a weak foreign policy on Africa at a time when Iran and China are courting Africa sparking suspicions of their true intentions.

Africans are wary of  China's real motives in donating a US$200m new building to the African Union when in September around 400 police used brute force against protesters in Wukan, south of the country 'beating some residents and allegedly killing one child' (The Telegraph, Chinese police besiege town and cut off food supplies in bid to quell riots).

As for Iran, events are moving very fast with regards to its controversial nuclear programme which has come under the spotlight of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA). Several African countries have viable uranium deposits needed for enrichment.

Pretoria was criticised for blocking a visit by the Dalai Lama to attend the 80th Birthday of South African hero Archbishop Desmond Tutu. That snub inevitably caused a lot of disappointment and embarrassment in political and civil society circles beyond Africa.

Despite attempts to claim the gender issue and turning out to charm ahead of the AU vote with brochures in English, French and Spanish, Nkosazana Dlamini Zuma failed to garner enough support for the influential post.

Zimbabweans will not shed a tear or two for Nkosazana Dlamini Zuma's failure to secure the two thirds majority required to win because of what is perceived as her country's taking sides on the Zimbabwe crisis and appeasement of Mugabe.
 
A practical example is ex-president Thabo Mbeki and Jacob Zuma's refusal to release to the Mail & Guardian despite court orders, an explosive report that was compiled by South African judges who were commissioned by Mbeki on the Zimbabwe election violence of 2002.
 
In 2008 South African army generals were commissioned by Thabo Mbeki to collect information and compile another election violence report which is believed to implicate the Zimbabwe military, but Pretoria is sitting on it as well.

The loser from the AU stalemate would obviously be Robert Mugabe, who cut short his month-long leave to fly to Addis Ababa to presumably canvass for the wrong candidate and early elections in Zimbabwe despite firmly blocking reforms. Akanzwa butter! (Good for him).

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©Clifford Chitupa Mashiri, Political Analyst, London, zimanalysis2009@gmail.com