At the recently ended Southern African Development Community (SADC) hosted by Malawi in Lilongwe, SADC unanimously condemned the elevation of Zionist-colonialist Israel to observer status by the African Union (AU).
Many countries in SADC are in solidarity with the Palestinian cause simply because they know how painful colonialism and apartheid is. SADC region endured the most horrific forms of colonialism and apartheid before attaining their independence.
Many of these SADC countries had to fight protracted wars of liberation for them to be free. Thousands of lives were lost during these struggles and many more incapacitated in order to free ourselves from the yoke of bondage. This is the same bondage that the Palestinian people are still subjected to.
It is thus disgraceful that the current head of SADC, President Dr. Lazurus Chakwera of Malawi has defiantly opted to go against the group’s decision. Not only does his insistence to proceed establishing Malawi’s embassy in Jerusalem undermine SADC’s resolve, but he does also so at huge risk to the unity of the region.
Where was Dr. Chakwera when many of our countries in Southern Africa were being butchered by the former colonial governments? Has Dr. Chakwera forgotten that the peace and freedom that we now enjoy did not come on a silver platter?
Immediately when he ascended to power in Malawi after winning elections there, on a largely protest vote against the former government, he announced, wanting to please his white master former USA president Donald Trump that he was going to open an embassy in Jerusalem.
Does Dr. Chakwera know that setting up an embassy in Jerusalem is not only a violation of UN resolutions but a defiance of it? It is, therefore, unbecoming of a leader in the SADC block to plunge member states into unnecessary controversy. The SADC stance on such issues is well known to be that of always in compliance with UN positions utmost.
What one sees in Dr. Chakwera and his party’s behaviour always remind us of the policies of Dr. Hastings Kamuzu Banda Malawi’s late dictator who at the time of liberation wars of independence in Southern Africa, he broke ranks with other leaders such as Mwalimu Julius Kambarage Nyerere and Dr. Kenneth Kaunda and was busy dining with colonial governments in the region and had diplomatic relations with them.
He had diplomatic relations with apartheid South Africa, Rhodesia, and Portugal at a time when these governments were considered pariahs even by their parent governments in Europe. All Dr. Banda wanted was to get kickbacks from these colonial governments which in a way worked for him in the form of his capital city of Lilongwe which was built by the apartheid South African government as a thank you for selling out the rest of SADC who were still fighting for their independence.
The danger with such kind of leaders is that they can even be used to destabilize the region. Remember what Dr. Banda ended up doing? He was used by apartheid South Africa to give training and refuge to RENAMO rebels who ended up killing thousands of people and terrorising the whole region.
This spirit of defying and not wanting to pull in the same direction with others is very much in the DNA of Dr. Chakwera and his party the Malawi Congress Party (MCP). This spirit of a house nigger mentality should not be portrayed by an African head of state, it’s shameful to say the least.
SADC should never in the future allow compromised leaders like Dr. Lazarus Chakwera to ascend to its leadership. The man is simply clothed in a house nigger kind of mentality which is unbecoming of a leader in SADC. Africa is tired of the General Mobutu Sese Seko of the former Zaire kind of leaders who rule reading from a script written from Zionist Israel and USA. We deserve original and authentic leadership in order to be able to register any meaningful progress on the continent.
We urge SADC to always keep Dr. Chakwera and his party in check otherwise he will plunge the region into serious controversies and might end up splitting our vanguard organization just like Kamuzu did in the past.
By:
Dr. Mustafa Mheta
Senior researcher/Head of Africa Desk
Media Review Network
South Africa
Johannesburg
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