Zimbabwe crisis: Kicking the can down the road

The last time the long-running Zimbabwe crisis came up as an agenda item before SADC was in 2013 when the troubled nation held a highly disputed election, which Mugabe “coasted” to victory in.

Voters’ roll irregularities, intimidation by state agents and claims of outright electoral fraud against Mugabe were made, but SADC and Africa in general declared the elections free, peaceful and fair. Only Botswana expressed its reservations, again swimming against the tide as it has frequently done in its relations with Zimbabwe.