Date: 31 August 2023

Time: 15:30 – 17;00 SAST

Register via Zoom Here

Programme

Moderators: Isabella Matambanadzo (Human Rights, Gender and Diversity Expert); Jeggan Grey-Johnson (Advocacy Manager Open Society- Africa)

Speaker: – Update on current situation and scenarios for Zimbabwe post-elections – Dr Toendepi Shonhe (Public Interest Researcher) (15 minutes)

Discussants: Prof. Chidi Odinkalo, Dr. Siphosami Malunga, Don Deya, Roselyn Hanzi, Deus Valentine, Alice Mogwe, Tanele Maseko, Janah Ncube, Samukeliso Khumalo, Prof. Adriano Nuvunga, Samson Itodo (TBC) (5 minutes each)

 Concluding Remarks and Way Forward – Brian Kagoro (10 minutes)

 Vote of thanks: – Arnold Tsunga (Convenor – Civic Space Network Africa)

Background

There has been a flurry of activities and narratives with regard to the disputed Aug. 23 election in Zimbabwe. The sham election, which many independent election observers have disqualified was characterised by systemic manipulation and outright electoral fraud as evidenced by inter alia, clumsy gerrymandering, secretive voter roll, as well as systematic voter suppression in opposition strongholds and omnipresent voter intimidation in peri-urban and rural areas. The citizen observers were disabled by partisan security forces from effectively implementing a parallel voter tabulation. A contingent of observers from the human rights sector within and outside Zimbabwe were barred from observing the elections on allegations of being security threats. Both international observer missions and citizen observers have unanimously refused to endorse the elections as free, fair and credible concluding that they fell short of minimum acceptable standards governing democratic elections.

For the first time following elections, the African Union (AU), and Regional Economic Communities (RECs) policy community seem not willing to rubber stamp a flawed election process that some have aptly described as a constitutional coup. The Southern African Development Community (SADC) has sent a team of elders led by President Kikwete to Zimbabwe to carry out a “mediation” mission. Nevertheless, there is overall scepticism that this mission might try to cure this disputed election and engineer some legitimacy for the incumbent. In fact, fears abound, that like the 2007-8 mediation, this may create an escape route that reinforces the ruling party and be an opiate to the opposition, civil society and people’s agency to demand for democratic and accountable governance in an open civic space, both on and offline.

A lot of human rights and civil society leaders in Africa have been active on social media and in the press expressing opinions that something needs to be done to show active solidarity with the people of Zimbabwe before the electoral heist commanders start a power consolidation process. This process will entail deployment of an array of new and old instruments and infrastructure of repression that includes captured institutions such as the judiciary, and targeted use of repressive legislation to disrupt, dismantle and destroy any resistance to the election theft and resultant authoritarian practices and industrial scale looting and economic plunder of Zimbabwe.

In this context Civic Space Network – Africa (CSN-Africa) and Southern Defenders are arranging a postmortem and forward looking meeting of African CSO leaders to reflect on Zimbabwe together and develop solution-oriented key narratives and plausible alternatives before the civic space in Zimbabwe is completely closed by the ruling party. The thinking is that this meeting should be different to the public meetings predominantly twitter spaces that have been happening. It has to be more an intentional brainstorming session of what the African civil society leaders need to do for active and practical solidarity with the people of Zimbabwe so that the meeting helps to develop the action-oriented and impact-focused plan and not just a conversation as an end in itself.

The brainstorming should result in directional guidance to African human rights and civil society leaders as they speak on Zimbabwe in policy spaces that Zimbabweans may not have access to and also be able to reflect on how best the wider African civil society may engage, if possible, with the SADC (mediation process) to optimise transformative outcomes that lead to the shortest pathways towards restoration of legitimacy to Zimbabwe’s governmental leadership.

At the request of a significant number of African Civil Society, this brainstorming session organised by Civic Space Network and SouthernDefenders takes place via Zoom on Thursday 31st August 2023 from 3.30 PM-5.00 pm.

#TogetherWeDefend