Envoys sent by African Union (AU) chairperson, President
Cyril Ramaphosa of South Africa to assess the political situation in Zimbabwe
flew back to Pretoria yesterday where they are expected to report to their
principal.
The three-member delegation returned a day after meeting President Mnangagwa where
they exchanged notes at State House on Monday.
Former South African Minister of Safety and Security Dr
Sydney Mufamadi was leading the team which comprised former Speaker of
Parliament Baleka Mbete and former South Africa’s Minister of Public Service
and Administration Advocate Ngoako Ramatlhodi.
In an interview yesterday, South African Ambassador to
Zimbabwe, Mr Mphakama Mbete said the trio left for Pretoria to brief President
Ramaphosa.
“They have just left. They are now going to brief their
principal, His Excellency President Ramaphosa. This is after they met His
Excellency President Mnangagwa in Harare on Monday,” said Mr Mbete.
He said it was up to President Ramaphosa to decide on the
next course of action.
“The envoys were here at the instigation of their
principal, who is President Ramaphosa. At the moment I cannot tell what is
going to happen because it depends on President Ramaphosa who sent them here.
“It is him who will decide what course of action depending
on what he would have been told, but they returned today after their meeting
with President Mnangagwa,” said Mr Mbete.
The three came to Zimbabwe to assess the political
situation in Zimbabwe after a sustained social media onslaught against the
Harare administration.
Briefing journalists on Monday after meeting President
Mnangagwa, Dr Mufamadi said they are in the country as envoys of the President
of South Africa.
He said they had exchanged views with President Mnangagwa
on the situation in the country.
“We exchanged views with his counterpart President
Mnangagwa. In other words, we were listening to the state of the situation,
what is being done or the intentions to do extra things and so on,” he said.
Dr Mufamadi said the outcome of the meeting will only be
made public by President Ramaphosa after getting the views from all parties.
“We are not going to respond for our President through the
media. We will be reporting to the President first, who will then interact with
the public in due course,” said Dr Mufamadi.
Secretary for Information, Publicity and Broadcasting
Services Mr Nick Mangwana last week said Zimbabwe has nothing to hide, as the
so-called crisis was merely a creation of the nation’s detractors.
The three are coming to understand “the difficulties that
Zimbabwe is facing”, following a wave of sustained attacks by opposition
politicians, civic society activists and exiled G40 fugitives — Saviour
Kasukuwere, Walter Mzembi, Jonathan Moyo and Patrick Zhuwao.
The anti-Zimbabwe crusade follows the flop of the protests
that had been planned for July 31, which had been heavily-funded by Western
embassies aimed at toppling President Mnangagwa and his Government.
Mr Mangwana said Zimbabwe and South Africa maintain cordial
relations since they share a similar history of fighting and winning the war
against ruthless colonial regimes. Herald
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