Oh, Southern African Development Community (SADC) you little scamps! Robert Mugabe’s government (and for all intents and purposes it is still Mugabe’s government) got crushed in a regional court that ruled against government “land reform” and in favor of white farmers. Mugabe blatantly ignored the court. There is little gray area here — both the court’s ruling and Mugabe’s circumvention are clear and almost wholly beyond dispute.
So SADC met this week at a summit in Windhoek, Namibia. They looked at Mugabe’s clear circumvention of the judiciary. And, as expected, they punted, announcing that a “review of the role, functions and terms of reference of the SADC tribunal should be undertaken and concluded within six months,” according to Joao Samuel Caholo, the deputy executive secretary of the 15-member bloc.
This is almost the perfect Platonic form of fecklessness. SADC may not have a whole lot of power actually to do anything to force Mugabe’s hand, but it ought to use whatever leverage it has. Six months simply means that “land reform” becomes a fait accompli. Of course for Mugabe’s supporters in SADC (and sadly there are some) that might just be the point.