THE Sadc Organ on Politics, Defence and Security Co-operation – including Mozambique – on Tuesday held a one-day Extraordinary Organ Troika Summit of Heads of State and Goverment, Zimbabwe’s Foreign Affairs ministry said in a communique.
The one-day Troika summit in Harare was attended by grouping’s outgoing chairperson, Zimbabwe President Emmerson Mnangagwa, Edgar Lunga of Zambia, Botswana’s Mokgwetsi Masisi and President Filipi Nyusi of Mozambique.
Although the summit opened on the COVID-19 note – congratulating and promising co-operation among the region – it is an open secret that the precarious security situation in Mozambique constituted the main agenda of the summit.
“The Extraordinary Organ Troika Summit plus Mozambique is commited and urges Sadc member States to assist the Goverment of Mozambique in fighting against the terrorists and armed groups in some districts of Cabo Delgado province,” read one of resolutions of Tuesday’s Troika summit.
Hostilities in Mozambique between the goverment and suspected Islamic armed militias escalated soon after this year’s Sadc-monitored elections were pronounced in favour of that country’s ruling Frelimo party.
But the opposition Renamo party thinks the elections were rigged and now wants the Cabo Delgado province to secede from the rest of the country.
There are reports that Russian mercenaries, Angolan and Zimbabwean armies are already in that country, sorting out the mercy.
The Troika also noted and upheld the Supreme Court judgment in Malawi which nullified last year’s presidential elections “won” by incumbent President Peter Mutharika, saying they were improperly handled, in the process declaring them null and void.
On Lesotho, the Troika summit resolution was a subtle dig on that country’s ruling party:
“The summit notes the developments in the Kingdom of Lesotho and calls for the peaceful transfer of power in line with the Constitution of the Kingdom of Lesotho.”