On 17 August 2024, the Southern African Development Community (SADC) held their 44th Ordinary Summit in Harare, Zimbabwe. The Summit was attended by all the heads of state and government of the member states, with the exceptions of Mauritius, Seychelles and Zambia. As was expected the Summit elected President Mnangagwa of Zimbabwe as the next chairperson of SADC and President Rajoeline of Madagascar as the incoming president. Additionally, President Samia Suluhu Hassan of Tanzania was elected as the chairperson of the Organ on Politics, Defence and Security Co-operation, with President Lazarus Chakwera of Malawi as the incoming chairperson.
The build-up to the Summit was not without controversy, as commentators questioned the decision to have Zimbabwe as the hosts. In the week leading up to the Summit, there were reports of many activists being arrested, as well as claims of human rights violations. The Mayor of Bulawayo, and a member of the opposition, David Coltart, accused the government of engaging in ‘preventative detention’ of individuals whom it believed would embarrass the Zimbabwean government. Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International both called on the Zimbabwe government to stop the crackdown on activists and called for an investigation into reports of torture and ill-treatment of those in detention. With calls for the Summit to be held elsewhere, the South African government pointed out that, as Zimbabwe was the incoming chairperson, South Africa did not have any authority to tell SADC that the Summit could not take place in Zimbabwe. South Africa further went on to reiterate that issues raised by activists in Zimbabwe should be addressed through negotiation and resolved through dialogue.
[T]he removal from the agenda comes despite the fact that Eswatini has not implemented the recommendations made by SADC in 2021 to resolve the instability in the Kingdom, one of which was the hosting of a national dialogue.
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Despite the opposition to Zimbabwe hosting the Summit, it went ahead with most heads of state and government in attendance. One of the major outcomes of the Summit, as indicated in the Summit communique, was the removal of Eswatini from the agenda of the organ troika, at the request of King Mswati. In the communique, SADC noted the positive progress made towards political and security stability in Eswatini. However, the removal from the agenda comes despite the fact that Eswatini has not implemented the recommendations made by SADC in 2021 to resolve the instability in the Kingdom, one of which was the hosting of a national dialogue. Since the SADC mission to Eswatini during the height of tensions in the Kingdom, the government in Eswatini has repeatedly made commitments to host the national dialogue to resolve the questions raised by citizens on the powers of the monarchy and democracy in Eswatini. The nature of the dialogue itself became a point of contention between the monarchy and anti-monarchy activists. However, the issues raised by activists in Eswatini have not been addressed and no reforms have taken place.
Despite the unrest, politically and democratically, the country is the same as it was prior to the protests. Those advocating for reforms and changes in Eswatini remain active, as their grievances have not been addressed in any way. As a result, the likelihood of the violence experienced in 2021 recurring has not dissipated. As such, the removal of Eswatini from the Organ agenda could be seen as a victory by King Mswati and his government. SADC are now less likely to monitor the situation in Eswatini, and King Mswati can manage the narrative shared with SADC. As SADC will not be monitoring the Kingdom as closely as previously, SADC is likely to once again be caught off guard, should anti-monarch protests take place again.
With nine of the 16 member states scheduled to hold elections in 2024, SADC commended the peaceful conduct of five elections thus far, and expressed its hopes for successful elections in the remaining four countries.
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The removal of Eswatini from the security agenda comes at a time when SADC also shifts its focus away from Mozambique. The SADC mission to Mozambique came to an end in 2024, with the hope that Mozambique will be able to protect the gains made by the Mission and establish lasting peace and security in the Cabo Delgado region. The shift in emphasis away from Mozambique and Eswatini may free up SADC to place much of its focus on the situation in the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). SADC began its Mission to the DRC, known as SAMIDRC, at the end of 2023, with troops from Malawi, South Africa and Tanzania supporting the DRC armed forces in the eastern regions. From a dialogue perspective, SADC commended the efforts of the President of Angola, João Lourenço, and his government, through the facilitation of the Luanda Process. SADC also called on the DRC and Rwanda to cease hostilities, indicating that a resolution to the security situation in the eastern DRC also requires addressing tensions between the two states.
Matters of peace and security dominated the Summit, although the communique also mentioned several other issues. With nine of the 16 member states scheduled to hold elections in 2024, SADC commended the peaceful conduct of five elections thus far, and expressed its hopes for successful elections in the remaining four countries. While it is true that the SADC member state elections held thus far have been peaceful, SADC did not go so far as to commend these states for conducting free and fair elections. Lesotho remains on the agenda, with the reform process in the Kingdom still ongoing. This process has taken longer than expected and SADC has been involved for a number of years. The splitting up of the Omnibus bill has done little to break the deadlock in Parliament. SADC also called for an end to sanctions on Zimbabwe, noting that sanctions only serve to inhibit Zimbabwe’s ability to promote progress and prosperity in the country. This has been a consistent call from SADC and a show of support to the government in Zimbabwe.
SADC is currently facing a number of security challenges, with the conflict in the DRC being a major focus of the regional bloc. Many challenges facing the region, such as high unemployment rates, especially among the youth, as well as poverty and inequality, persist. While Southern Africa is regaining its status as one of Africa’s more stable regions, failure to address these challenges may lead to increased instability and insecurity.
