A Conversation with Charles Mangongera, Visiting NED Democracy Fellow, on Governance and Activism in Zimbabwe

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Angola, Charles Mangongera, Equatorial Guinea, Mass Public Opinion Institute, MDC, military rule in Africa, Mutoko, National Endowment for Democracy, political science, Robert Mugabe, Tete, University of Zimbabwe, ZANU-PF, Zimbabwe, Zimbabwe elections

I recently had the pleasure to hear National Endowment for Democracy (NED) Reagan-Fascell Fellow Charles Mangongera, Director of Policy and Research for Zimbabwe’s main opposition party, speak masterfully at NED on the role of the military in the country’s political sphere.  Dedicated readers may know that I have a particular interest in Zimbabwe and recall an earlier Africa in DC interview of another Zimbabwean activist.

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Veiled Threats from Zimbabwe Embassy to MDC Official and NED Fellow?

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Charles Mangongera, George Chinoingira, MDC, NED, Whatmore Goora, WOZA, ZANU-PF, ZCTU, Zimbabwe civil society, Zimbabwe criticism of West, Zimbabwe Embassy in USA, Zimbabwe GPA, Zimbabwe opposition, Zimbabwe political violence, ZUJ

Aggrieved Zimbabwe Embassy Official

Today, I attended a superb talk by visiting NED Fellow (and Zimbabwe opposition staffer) Charles Mangongera on Zimbabwe’s military.  His superb presentation warrants a post (to come soon) that focuses solely on its own merits.  For this space here however, there was a very interesting exchange at the end of Q & A with an official from the Embassy of Zimbabwe that warrants a separate examination.

Zimbabwe’s Emerging Leaders: Insights from Atlas Corps Fellow Cleopatra Ndlovu

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Alexio Kawara, Atlas Corps, Bulawayo, Flora Buka, Gender in Zimbabwe, MDC, Oppah Muchinguri, Robert Mugabe, Tabitha Khumalo, Tendai Biti, ZANU-PF, Zimbabwe

On Monday I sat down with Cleopatra Ndlovu, an Atlas Corps Fellow from Zimbabwe to discuss Zimbabwe’s recent elections, gender, NGO management, and a host of other issues (such as our mutual dislike of the late Sungura musician Tongai Moyo).  Cleopatra is currently serving with InsideNGO (‘a good and eye opening experience’), an organization which offers capacity-building services for NGOs.  She has been in DC for slightly over half a year and will remain here for the remainder of the year.  It is not her first visit; she was one of the young African leaders who participated in a town hall meeting with President Obama in August 2010.

A Brief Analysis of Zimabwe’s 2008 & 2013 Parliamentary Election Results in a Rural ZANU-PF Stronghold

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Jimmy Jombo-Charowa, Kotwa, MDC, Mudzi, Newten Kachepa, Peter Godwin, Tete Corridor, ZANU-PF, Zimbabwe election

Although it has been several years since I’ve been to Zimbabwe, it is one of the African countries that I know best.  I visited the country on an annual basis for several years at the height of the country’s economic crisis and into the early years of the government of national unity.  My personal interest in African affairs really coalesced in 2008, when I visited Zimbabwe during Spring Break, just a few weeks before the historic elections that saw the opposition defeat incumbent

Africa in DC Upcoming Zimbabwe Coverage

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Robert Mugabe, US government ZImbabwe policy, ZANU-PF, Zimbabwe election

I expect to have several posts up shortly speaking on developments in Zimbabwe.  One will be a conversation with a Zimbabwean gender rights activist currently based in DC and I plan to depart from my typical Africa in DC lens to examine the election results in a rural constituency that I have visited several times and which has traditionally been a bastion of support for Robert Mugabe’s ZANU-PF.

In the meanwhile, please read my analysis of a piece on Zimbabwean political developments in the early 1980s, I think it offers some important context for events today.

I’ll leave you with one personal observation.  I was very distressed by recent comments I heard from Shannon Smith, a high ranking official in the Bureau of African Affairs on American willingness to engage with Mugabe and ZANU – PF.  Consequently, I have been pleasantly surprised by the relatively strong comments from the State Department on the election (‘the culmination of a deeply flawed process’), which goes far beyond the appeasing comments uttered by Smith, who sounded like she was trying to win a stake in a Zimbabwean diamond mine.

Until the State Department statement, it seemed as if Mugabe was on the cusp of pulling a Myanmar-esque renaissance, perhaps if he hadn’t been so greedy as to decimate the MDC presence in parliament, the election may have been more ‘credible’.  It begs the question however – where was the USG in the midst of this deeply flawed process?

Beyond the Elections in Zimbabwe Pt 1*: Democratic Institutions

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Dewa Mahvinga, Human Rights Watch, Irene Petras, Jabusile Shumba, Jenni Williams, NED, Robert Mugabe, Simon Khaya Moyo, WOZA Zimbabwe, ZANU-PF, Zimbabwe elections, Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights

*I will publish part 2 tomorrow on the comments of Shannon Smith, the Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs.  I took great exception to her diplomatic speak, so please indulge my venting in a dedicated post.

Alas, work commitments today meant that I missed most of the ‘Beyond the Elections in Zimbabwe‘ conference convened at the National Endowment for Democracy and co-sponsored by a variety of local organizations.

I arrived late, in the middle of the 2nd panel, and had to leave early (fortunately, I still got a delicious lunch).  This meant that I missed the first panel, on civil society, which was what I most wanted to hear.  Fortunately,