South African opposition leader Mmusi Maimane has criticised President Cyril Ramaphosa’s decision to attend Emmerson Mnangagwa’s inauguration in Harare on Monday saying such endorsement would harm the Southern African Development Community (SADC) as a whole.
Ramaphosa is one of three regional presidents who attended President Mnangagwa’s inauguration following the August 23 elections, which the SADC Election Observer Mission (SEOM), said failed to meet regional and international standards citing voter suppression, prohibition of opposition rallies and intimidation by a ‘shadowy’ group Forever Associates of Zimbabwe (FAZ) among other factors.
Mozambican President Filipe Nyusi and Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) President Felix Tshisekedi were the other two presidents who attended the ceremony, while the other SADC presidents sent delegates.
Expressing his criticism on his X account, Maimane said South Africans did not agree with Ramaphosa for attending Mnangagwa’s inauguration.
“The people of South Africa do not agree to this. We are suffering daily because of the collapse of Zimbabwe and you Cyril Ramaphosa are going to shake hands with the root cause of our problems in SADC. (Nelson) Mandela would never. (Thomas) Sankara would never. (Patrice) Lumumba would rather die,” he said.
“Do not attend this mess Cyril Ramaphosa. South Africa is suffering from the consequences of collapse in Zimbabwe. Hospitals are crowded, buildings are crowded, people are dying in SA because of the Zanu PF-led collapse of Zimbabwe. You have no clearance from South Africans.”
Last week, Maimane, who is the leader of the Build One South Africa (BOSA) political party, called on the South African government to proclaim the Zimbabwean elections a sham, end all diplomatic relations with the Zimbabwean government forthwith and remove the Zimbabwean ambassador in the aftermath of the August 23 elections, which were marred by irregularities.
Meanwhile, ANC Secretary General Fikile Mbalula, who recently endorsed the Zimbabwean election, Zanu PF and Mnangagwa also attended the presidential inauguration ceremony.
Angolan president João Lourenço who is the current chair of SADC and Zambia’s Hakainde Hichilema, who chairs the SADC Troika, responsible for promoting peace and security in the region also sent representatives.
