There is no point beating about the bush: the world has lost Zimbabwe off the global radar.
After presiding over a deeply flawed political marriage in that country, even SADC seems to have moved on, totally oblivious of what becomes of that enforced marriage.
The lot, it would seem like, is now the misery for Zimbabweans alone to slug their way out.
That should not be.
SADC ÔÇô and most especially those member countries like Botswana that have pretensions to democracy should not leave Zimbabwe alone.
Zimbabweans need all assistance they can get.
But of all the help, the one they need most is assistance to prepare for fresh elections.
What they have in place today is an aberration from which they have to be rescued.
Going forward the biggest role SADC should play is to guard against the orgy of violence that Robert Mugabe has systematically employed to remain in power.
In a span of just over a year, the Government of National Unity has done more to undermine the integrity, character and self esteem of Zimbabweans than Mugabe could have wished upon his people in his lengthy life.
Of course, Zimbabweans should have seen it coming.
Although they had no hand in weaving it, they went into it with their eyes open.
Right from the beginning, it was a risky deal fraught with all undemocratic tenets.
First and perhaps most importantly, the deal was forced down the throat of the Zimbabweans by outsiders.
The deal was a brainchild of a former South African President, one Thabo Mbeki – a man who has never made an effort to hide his disdain for Morgan Tsvangirai.
Second, the deal manifestly disregarded the popular will of the Zimbabweans.
Thirdly (and this should get us in Botswana really worried) the deal went on to set if not entrench a terrible precedent of giving power to a loser.
By saying Mugabe is a really bad man we should not be mistaken to say his opposite number, Morgan Tsvangirai, is an angel.
In fact there are certain instances where we simply have to give it to Robert Mugabe.
He is a skillful politician.
Put side by side, especially with regard to negotiating skills, Tsvangirai comes across as a ranking buffoon.
Not just that, the former trade unionist has on several occasions proved himself a man of many shortcomings.
His crimes are only pardonable because there is a near universal admission that he is a powerless Prime Minister.
The tragedy though is that by agreeing to sleep on the same bed with Robert Mugabe, Tsvangirai has inadvertently helped atone for Mugabe’s ghastly crimes.
The so called Government of National Unity under which Mugabe has kept all the power was crafted not just to buy time but also to legitimise and ease international pressure off Mugabe after he lost a General Election.
True to the plan, the unity government has worked wonders for Mugabe.
So in a big way, Tsvangirai has helped raise Mugabe from the dead. Literally!
Is it any wonder that Mugabe’s henchmen now insist that it should be Tsvangirai who spearheads an international campaign to lift sanctions against Zimbabwe as well as travel bans that directly affect them!
Even as his supporters continue to die at the hands of ZANU-PF, Tsvangirai carries on helplessly (or should we say shamelessly) as the Chief Spokesperson of the Mugabe-led Government of National Unity.
The betrayal is felt far beyond his domestic support base.
International backers are no longer sure what role to play.
They also are not sure what to make of Tsvangirai – is he an accomplice or a victim?
It will be interesting to see how he will disentangle himself from this precarious situation.
That said this marriage of convenience forced on the Zimbabweans cannot last forever.
Sooner or later that nation will go to the polls.
Sleeping with Mugabe has been the easier part.
The difficult part for Tsvangirai will be convincing the voters that his consorting with Mugabe was worth all the sacrifice.
Were he a shrewd politician, Tsvangirai should never have appended his signature to an agreement that did not give him any powers in government, least of all an agreement masterminded by Thabo Mbeki.
Now he has been left crying that there remain many outstanding issues like the appointments of the Attorney General and the Governor of the Reserve Bank as per the Global Political Agreement.
Talk of hoisting oneself with own petard.
But still Zimbabwe should go for elections. And in that regard Botswana Government has of late been making the right ramblings.
Which is why, at least on this one, I am fully behind President Ian Khama, and I make no apologies about it.
