Southern Africa: DRC Conflict - Can Mnangagwa Steer SADC Through the Storm?

President Emmerson Mnangagwa (file photo).
31 January 2025

As Southern African leaders gather in Harare today to tackle the escalating conflict in the Democratic Republic of Congo, a critical question hangs in the air: is President Emmerson Mnangagwa the right captain to steer the region's response?

Mnangagwa's leadership is coming under intense scrutiny as his own political party appears to be splitting.

The fault lines within Mnangagwa's party, Zanu-PF, are deepening. Two factions, one staunchly backing him and the other rallying behind Vice President Constantino Chiwenga, are locked in a power struggle, a visible crack in the party's facade.

This internal strife spilled into the open this week during the burial of a national hero Justin Mupamhanga at the national shrine where factions clashed publicly. Despite Mnangagwa's pledge to step down in 2028, his silence on those calling for him to extend his rule has only fueled doubt.

The DRC conflict itself is a tempest, and Mnangagwa finds himself in the thick of it, his hands seemingly tied by domestic turmoil. Whispers are turning into shouts: some of his own comrades are imploring him to leave office peacefully, failure to which he may go the Robert Mugabe way in November 2017.

The DRC conflict has already been worsened by public spats between South African President Cyril Ramaphosa and Rwandan President Paul Kagame.

Ramaphosa's accusations of Rwanda's support for M23 rebels met with Kagame's vehement denial, have created a dangerous rift. South Africa's loss of 13 soldiers in DRC has only heightened the tension. Kagame, in a display of fiery defiance, has even threatened to confront South Africa militarily if it chooses confrontation.

Obert Masaraure, a human rights defender and president of the Amalgamated Rural Teachers Union of Zimbabwe (ARTUZ), is blunt in his observation.

"What is happening right now in Zanu PF is a clear testimony of Emmerson Mnangagwa's failure to calm storms in his own party. His party is in turmoil as factions are gunning for each other's head.

"How then can he manage to lead the region's response to the DRC conflict? He does not have the capacity. Why is he failing to sit down with his comrades whom he went to war with and make peace?" queried Masaraure.

Masaraure further painted Mnangagwa as a man who creates problems but cannot solve them.

"He is a man who creates problems but cannot solve the same. He created problems in Mozambique and he has created economic hardships and political conflict in the country. The man has many problems to deal with. The DRC conflict is too much for him. President Ramaphosa is the one who is now acting as if is the SADC chair," he said.

Advocate Fadzayi Mahere took to X Thursday, demanding that Information Permanent Secretary Nick Mangwana clarify Zimbabwe's official stance on the escalating DRC conflict. She pointedly highlighted the divergent positions taken by South Africa, Rwanda, and even Kenya.

"Whose side are we on?" she questioned, "Or are we neutral? Or, worse, are we indifferent?"

Mangwana did not respond to Mahere.

However, Zanu-PF communications director, Farai Marapira, defended Mnangagwa, dismissing his critics as having "put wool over their eyes" and conveniently forgetting Zimbabwe's history of conflict resolution.

"They clearly have chosen to put wool over their eyes because they have conveniently forgotten the role Zimbabwe played in the late 1990s. Under the leadership of President Mnangagwa, Zimbabwe and SADC is more than equal to the task," he said.

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