region unity

Zimbabwe: Commonwealth sends fact-finding mission to assess readmission

By The Africa Report

Reserved for subscribers

Posted on December 1, 2022 08:19

© Zimbabwe’s President Emmerson Mnangagwa reviews the guard of hounour at the State House in Nairobi, Kenya, on March 9, 2022. (Photo by Yasuyoshi CHIBA / AFP) — Zimbabwe’s President Emmerson Mnangagwa reviews the guard of hounour at the State House in Nairobi, Kenya, on March 9, 2022. (Photo by Yasuyoshi CHIBA / AFP)

After being suspended for more than three decades from the Commonwealth group of nations, Zimbabwe is angling for re-admission despite a chequered human rights record.

The country was suspended from the Commonwealth in March 2002 at the height of its controversial Land Reform Programme under the leadership of the late former President Robert Mugabe.

It was later removed in 2004 following violent land seizures in 2000 where white commercial farmers were removed to make way for black indigenous farmers.

There's more to this story

Get unlimited access to our exclusive journalism and features today. Our award-winning team of correspondents and editors report from over 54 African countries, from Cape Town to Cairo, from Abidjan to Abuja to Addis Ababa. Africa. Unlocked.

Subscribe Now

cancel anytime

Already a a subscriber Sign In

More Politics

Kenya’s first president, Jomo Kenyatta, in 1978. (CC/Wikimedia Commons/Dutch National Archives)

memory lane

Kenya at 60: Key moments in history Kenya celebrates 60 years of nationhood, showcasing key moments of its development.

rwanda redux

Paul Kagame: ‘The problem is not between me and Tshisekedi’ The Rwandan president answers questions on the tensions with DRC, his probable fourth term, the recent spate of coups, and his dissatisfaction with th...

© Noureddin Bongo Valentin, the eldest son of Gabonese President Ali Bongo Ondimb, speaks as he attends the Gabon Marathon in Libreville on December 1, 2019. AFP

Gabon: Son of ousted president held in treason, graft case Noureddin Bongo Valentin and some allies face a range of charges including misappropriation of public funds and drug trafficking.

Italians evacuated from Niger arrive at Ciampino Airport, near Rome

Cut off

Niger still isolated after airports reopening Air France, Turkish Airlines and pan-African airline Asky have not returned to Niamey, despite the reopening of Niger’s skies to commercial flights ea...