Zimbabwe's Mugabe on First Visit to S. Africa in 2 Decades

It has been more than two decades since Zimbabwe’s President Robert Mugabe paid a state visit to neighboring South Africa.Mugabe returned Tuesday to a South Africa that has changed considerably since his last state visit in 1994. Since then, South Africa has transformed itself from a global pariah over its apartheid system of racial separation into the "Rainbow Nation" of today.

Mugabe has changed, too. The man once hailed as a tireless liberation leader showed his indefatigable nature by energetically running for - and dubiously winning - election after election, allegedly rigging polls, committing human rights abuses and destroying his nation’s economy along the way.

In 2013, Mugabe was elected to his seventh term in a poll that some observers said was flawed. Those events have created a chill between him and the international community.

Frosty relations
But independent analyst David Monyae said this visit may represent the first thaw in Zimbabwe’s frosty diplomatic relations.

Monyae said one reason is that Mugabe, who recently became head of both the African Union and the Southern African Development Community, is a little too important to keep ignoring. Also, he noted, Zimbabwe may be turning a corner.

“It signals the start of the stabilization of Zimbabwean politics on one hand and slow coming out of the economic crisis as Zimbabwe engages with the international community. … President Robert Mugabe is currently the chair of SADC as well as the chair of the African Union. So he holds two critical positions in the African continent. That’s his leverage on quite a number of issues," Monyae said.

The official reason for this visit, which started Tuesday, is to strengthen economic cooperation between the two nations, said South Africa’s foreign ministry. Since Zimbabwe began its economic decline in the early 2000s, the balance of trade has swung decisively in South Africa’s favor.

And so, the man known for his fiery invective may have to bring out the begging bowl on this visit, Monyae said. The visit comes ahead of an SADC summit hosted by Zimbabwe, which the nation is reportedly struggling to pay for.

“I think it’s just speculation. But even if it is true, I won’t be surprised, given the economic crisis in the country, and therefore, like any other head of state, he would go around shopping and asking for help to host a gathering which is costing," he said.

But Mugabe’s visit is not without controversy. South Africa has the world’s highest population of Zimbabwean expatriates. About 200,000 of them are now trying to renew their asylum permits after fleeing here in the aftermath of the nation’s violent 2008 elections.

Ngqabutho Mabhena, a South Africa-based member of one of Zimbabwe’s two top opposition parties, is one of those Zimbabweans. (VOA)