{UAH} When Mugabe Dies…

When Mugabe Dies…

REALLY, who will be there to defend the rights of relatives and allies of Zimbabwean president Robert Mugabe soon or long after he's dead?

Replace Mugabe with any current or former president of an African country to put into perspective the dramatic events of last weekend when South Africa helped Sudanese president Omar al-Bashir evade an indictment for murder.

It ended the way many seasoned analysts and pundits concluded it would; that the government of president Jacob Zuma would show scant regard for his country's laws and institutions and would refuse to do something as far-reaching as arresting an errant African leader.

Al-Bashir was allowed to board his flight and evade justice for charges of ethnic cleansing, rape and other genocidal acts against black Africans in Sudan, particularly Darfur.

A lot has been said about the hyprocrisy of the international justice system, in this case the target being the International Criminal Court (ICC), which wants to prosecute Al-Bashir. The cheap point-scoring is that the ICC is targeting only African leaders but does nothing against the likes of George W Bush or Tony Blair for ordering the murderous raids on Iraq under the false charge of that country possessing "weapons of mass destruction".

But that argument has been nullified by the hypocrisy of our own leaders who keep begging the international community to tackle their equally murderous opponents such as Joseph Kony (Uganda), Bosco Ntaganda and Jean-Pierre Bemba (DRC).

Let's go back to "when Mugabe dies..." and replace his name with, say, Dos Santos (Angola), Gebuza (Mozambique), Pohamba, Nujoma or Geingob.

As heads of state and government demonstrated at their meeting of the African Union in South Africa against the ICC (with no less than a newcomer, our President Hage Geingob entering the fray), Mugabe has essentially managed to destroy the SADC Tribunal.
The SADC Tribunal was set up to serve as an arbiter of last resort between countries and between states on one side and individuals one the other, in the event that national institutions, such as courts, failed to function fairly and justly. Because Mugabe's government lost a case against a white Zimbabwean farmer at the Windhoek-based tribunal, SADC leaders have since stopped the tribunal and will allow it only to tackle state-to-state issues.

How short-sighted our leaders are. Remember the injustice that the former president of Zambia Frederick Chiluba meted out to Kenneth Kaunda? Having won the election against Kaunda hands-down, Chiluba abused his powers and stripped Kaunda of Zambian citizenship, turning the former long-serving president into a stateless citizen. Chiluba also arbitrarily decided not to pay Kaunda his pension.

That's what people do when drunk on power. They turn against laws and conventions and abuse the instruments of the state.
In the absence of continental and international institutions to keep some semblance of accountability, justice and fairness, the likes of Zuma, Dos Santos, Mugabe and our own leaders in Namibia must remember that their children, grand-children, relatives and cronies could be the target of unjust and unfair treatment because of their legacy.

Knowing very well how they and their relatives and friends amass wealth (Dos Santos's daughter Isabel is the richest woman in Africa) our leaders must fear because they keep destroying structures and institutions meant to keep in check those in power. Or are they so selfish not to even care about their off-spring and cronies after they no longer wield power?

Without such institutions, soon or long after they have gone, overzealous successors of past and current strongmen will have nothing stopping them from taking arbitrary decisions against the offspring of the likes of Mugabe, Dos Santos and the Nujomas of this continent. 

Is that what our leaders want, really?

Comments

   I don't think there's an leader who will make laws that will embrace them, the events that unfolded in South Africa has raised some important matters. Firstly is the question of powers of courts versus the country's position on the issue. South African image on the African continent is at the lowest especially after the xenophobic attacks against their fellow Africans. Arresting Sudanese president could have worsened the situation however the court went ahead using its powers and hijacked the system. The court should have dismissed the urgency of the matter because the event was planned in advance and a court could be issued long before the meeting. I salute Jacob Zuma on this because there opportunistic people who will use any means to embrace the African race. - Mukanwa Likokoto

   The impunity of leaders is an essential root cause of the failure of African societies. It is the cause for corruption, bad governance, poverty, inequality. It is also a stereotypical (traditional) behavior even on village level that leaders can do what they like without fear of punishment. When the youth or the poor do something wrong they will be punished draconically. The law hits only the powerless. That is how Africa conserves underdevelopment. The concept of leadership is flawed - don't trust a leader. - Jochen Becker

   Stop embarrassing African leaders just because you can - Mukanwa Likokoto

   While I agree with the fact that the absence of international justice systems or institutions to provide checks and balances will result in impunity in Africa, what about the impunity of the super powers that is going unchecked. Why are they not themselves part of ICC if they want Africa to be part of it. Otherwise, I think ICC is just another hegemonic tool used by big countries. And i think, therefore, ANC gives a better option, that is rather than leaving the ICC better transform it. so as to play the role that we all expect it to. - Darlington Gama

   Anyway, the media has framed our discussion around ICC at the expense of us knowing the decisions made during the AU meeting. - Darlington Gama

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Gwokto La'Kitgum

"Even a small dog can piss on a tall Building", Jim Hightower

"But this I know, UPC believed and still believes in

very high education. We can call Obote all bad names we have, but the bottom line remains that he got more scholarships for Buganda than all previous Uganda leaders combined. That includes Sir Edward Mutesa, President Lule, President Binayisa, up to and into Ssabasajja Mutebi. Who all happen to be Baganda leaders." Mulindwa

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