By brazenly rigging Mozambique elections Zanu PF crossed double red lines, Zimbabwe must be booted out of SADC

"Former President of Botswana Ian Khama has called on the Southern African Development Community SADC to expel Zimbabwe if proven to have meddled with member states' elections," Bulawayo24 reported.

It is bad enough that Zanu PF has repeatedly rigged Zimbabwe elections and the regional body has done nothing about it except that one occasion in 2008. SADC must not allow Zanu PF to brazenly interfere in another country's elections and get away with it.

Leaders like Emmerson Mnangagwa believe the rules and laws apply to everyone else and not to them. They are above the law especially when the application of the said law should threaten their iron grip on absolute power.

Of course, this is nonsense. No one, absolutely, no one is above the law!

After 44 years of enjoying absolute power Mnangagwa and company are addicted to power; the very idea of giving it up is unthinkable. Beside, Mnangagwa and many of his Zanu PF cronies amassed their wealth illegally. They cannot produce any tax returns to account for their wealth.

Worst of all, many have skeletons in the closets, basements, mine-shafts, everywhere from the Gukurahundi massacre in the 1980s to the more recent politically motivated murders of the 2008 electoral coup and 2017 military coup. No wonder Mnangagwa and company have risked all to rig elections and retain power at all cost, as the country's checked political history shows.

SADC did force Zanu PF to accept many electoral reforms resulting in the country holding the nearest thing to free, fair and credible elections in March 2008. When Mnangagwa realised that the party was heading for a crashing electoral defeat, he and his Zanu PF cronies staged the 2008 electoral coup.

SADC and AU were outraged by the blatant cheating in counting March 2008 votes and the wanton violence in the run-off that followed they refused to give Zanu PF political legitimacy. Mugabe was outraged and threatened to walk out of SADC.

It should be noted here that Zimbabwe was booted out of the Commonwealth for failing to hold free and fair elections in 2003. The prospect of being booted out of SADC and possible AU too, was a bridge too far. Mugabe relented and signed the 2008 Global Political Agreement and share political power with Morgan Tsvangirai in the 2008 to 2013 GNU.

The primary purpose of the GNU was to implement the democratic reforms to end Zanu PF's carte blanche dictatorial power including powers to rig elections. It is a great pity that not even one token democratic reform was implemented. Not even one!

Mugabe bribed Tsvangirai and company with the trappings of high office; the E-Class Mercedes Benz ministerial limos, the very generous salaries and allowances, a US$ 4 million mansion for Tsvangirai himself, etc., etc. And in return the MDC leaders kicked all the reforms into the devil-thorn Cactus thicket!

"Mazivanhu eMDC adzidza kudya anyerere!" (MDC leaders have learned to enjoy the gravy train good-life! {They will never rock the boat!}) boasted Zanu PF cronies during the GNU when asked why MDC leaders were not implementing the reforms.

Even since the GNU debacle, MDC/CCC leaders have participated in flawed elections knowing fully well that participating would give Zanu PF legitimacy for the same reasons they kicked reforms into the Cactus - incompetence and greed.

Mnangagwa blatantly rigged 2023 elections. As much as SADC and AU election observer missions condemned the election process as flawed and illegal they could not deny Zanu PF political legitimacy because the opposition and millions of their supporters participated in the flawed elections knowing doing so would give Zanu PF legitimacy.

When ANC lost its majority in the May 2024 elections that set alarm bells ringing in Zanu PF ruling elite's heads. The trend of ruling parties, especially Zanu PF's sister liberation movements, losing power was set a dangerous precedence - Zanu PF would be next. This is the reason why Zanu PF has been emboldened to export its vote rigging expertise to help keep ruling parties in power at all cost.

Hundreds of thousands of Zimbabweans voted in Mozambique's 9 October 2024 elections to prop up FRELIMO's votes. There is overwhelming video evidence to prove this. SADC and the AU cannot turn a blind eye to this. It is bad enough Zanu PF rigging Zimbabwe's elections but brazenly rigging another nation's elections is totally unacceptable. Zanu PF has crossed the double red lines and it must be punished!