Joseph Kabila, the President of the Democratic Republic of Congo, told journalists in South Africa on Friday that he didn't believe the political deadlock in Zimbabwe was out of control. Kabila, the current chairman of SADC, was speaking as the SADC Troika on Defence, Security and Politics was in Zimbabwe on its 'fact finding' mission.

The South African news agency, Sapa, said the SADC chair, who is expected to meet the political rivals on Saturday in Zimbabwe, said the regional bloc still believed that the implementation of the Global Political Agreement is the only solution to the problems affecting Zimbabwe.

However, while President Kabila is saying things are not out of control, his counterpart in Botswana disagrees. President Ian Khama said recently that the unity government is on the brink of collapse and if it collapsed, Botswana will not recognise Mugabe. His Foreign Affairs Minister, Phandu Skelemani, said on Friday that this is still Botswana's position.

Speaking on the Hot Seat programme, the Minister said what is happening in Zimbabwe is 'disastrous,' and he called for a full SADC summit to address the issues. Skelemani says the SADC Troika alone cannot take definitive action that will bring about a resolution and the SADC Heads of State need to sit down and admit that 'what they thought they got under the auspices of Thabo Mbeki, has really not worked.'

Meanwhile, speaking to reporters on Friday, Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai said that the Troika had decided to recommend a special SADC summit on the political crisis in Zimbabwe, although no date had been set. There has been no confirmation of this development from SADC itself.

Even with SADC representatives on the ground in Zimbabwe, violence and oppression are continuing. On Friday five farm workers were shot and injured on a South African owned farm in Zimbabwe, protected by a SADC court and trade agreements with the government. Just a day earlier a United Nations human rights expert was detained at Harare airport and deported, despite a formal invitation from Prime Minister Tsvangirai.

Political and civic activists are still being harassed. Officers from the Zimbabwe Election Support Network and National Association of Non Governmental Organisations were arrested, in separate cases, for holding "political meetings". Both the MDC and the civil society have also expressed concerned that ZANU PF is resorting back to violence to exert its control. The MDC reported that their Transport Manager was abducted from his home by armed men on Tuesday, and earlier that day a group of armed men assaulted and attempted to kidnap the party's Security Administrator.

Despite clear evidence that the situation in Zimbabwe is extremely serious, critics of the SADC brokered agreement believe the region is not going to achieve much, especially under the chairmanship of Kabila, who is where he is today because of Mugabe. Furthermore, there are massive 'trade' links and deals between ZANU PF and the DRC, and it would be surprising if Kabila wanted to see any change in this situation.