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As the African Union celebrates its golden jubilee this year, questions had been raised as to whether this should be an occasion for celebration or self-flagellation, whether the founding fathers who met in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia on May 25, 1963 would have cause to celebrate if they were to wake up today and see the state of the continental union.
We were among the sceptics, given the way the AU had largely stood akimbo as various parts of the continent were overrun by Western-sponsored rebels, the last being Libya where Nato invaders actually got the tacit blessing of some AU member states that voted with
Westerners in the UN Security Council for the imposition of a so-called No-Fly Zone over Libya. It was that resolution that was then abused by the Western warmongers to invade Libya, overthrow the government and kill Colonel Muammar Gaddafi in cold blood.
Through it all, Africa had stood by in bemusement. As fate would have it, as Africa turned 50 this year, Zimbabwe was preparing for harmonised elections which were subsequently held on July 31 delivering a resounding victory to President Mugabe and Zanu-PF.
Given how Westerners had been trying to depose President Mugabe and Zanu-PF since the turn of the millennium, it was evident Zimbabwe would be a test case for the AU and the continental body did not disappoint.
While the MDC-T and its Western handlers were lobbying for the postponement of elections in light of several surveys that pointed to a Zanu-PF victory, the AU insisted it will be guided by due process in Zimbabwe.
While Westerners poured money into their NGOs in Zimbabwe in a bid to influence their assessment of the Zimbabwe poll, the AU insisted it would be guided by the finding of its own Observer Mission.
The AU Election Observers Mission endorsed the elections as an expression of the will of Zimbabweans and affirmed faith in the country’s election management system by appointing Zimbabwe Electoral Commission chairperson Justice Rita Makarau to lead its AU Election Observer Mission to Rwanda’s general elections held last week.
We also take this opportunity to congratulate ZEC, and Justice Makarau for being good ambassadors for Zimbabwe. Her appointment which came at a time the US, Britain and its dominions Canada and Australia were in overdrive trying to trash President Mugabe and Zanu-PF’s crushing victory, was a great statement by Africa.
The US Senate Foreign Relations Committee recently conducted a hearing on the harmonised elections and resolved to ratchet up the US sanctions regime.
The fact that the AU, in the face of such self-serving, but condescending overtures from the West, appointed Justice Makarau to head the mission to Rwanda spoke volumes about Africa’s opinion of the continued fulminations from the traditional Western rabble-rousers.
The same goes for Sadc, which not only reiterated its verdict on the harmonised elections, but went on to elect President Mugabe deputy chairperson of the regional bloc putting Zimbabwe at the centre of regional politics for the next three years.
Africa has indeed come of age.
Online Reporter