Commonwealth admits Gabon and Togo, snubs Zimbabwe

ZIMBABWE’S bid to be re-admitted into the Commonwealth group of nations appears to have flopped after the economic bloc snubbed the Southern African country.

The Commonwealth Heads of Governments Meeting ended in Kigali, Rwanda, on Saturday with deafening silence on Zimbabwe’s re-admission bid.

The Commonwealth, however, admitted two former French colonies, Gabon and Togo as its 55th and 56th members.

At the just-ended Commonwealth summit, Zimbabwe had a heavy presence as it continued to lobby for readmission 18 years after the late former President Robert Mugabe withdrew the country from the group in 2003.

President Emmerson Mnangagwa’s government applied on May 15, 2018, to re-join the grouping, a year after toppling Mugabe through a military coup.

But there was no movement by the group, which has perennially cited human rights abuses and lack of rule of law as stumbling blocks for Zimbabwe’s re-admission.

Togo and Gabon’s admission was based on the assessment of several standards such as the democratic process, good governance and rule of law.

Political analyst Maxwell Saungweme said the Commonwealth snub was a direct indication that the second republic was reminiscent of the Mugabe regime.

“It’s a confirmation of the obvious, that the Mnangagwa regime has not changed. It’s a mere extension of Mugabe’s regime, albeit with more brazen human rights violations, lack of political sophistry and obscene looting of resources and corruption,” Saungweme said.

newsday