.jpg)
The Late Queen Elizabeth II
The new year came and now, it's gone! Many people around the world will find it difficult to forget the year 2022, a year that saw the death of the longest serving British monarchy, Queen Elizabeth II. A year that witnessed the first black American woman of colour being appointed as a Supreme Court judge. A 2022 of political defeats for Africa's heavyweights; Hamdok, Mokhothu and Odinga. A year of natural disasters in Pakistan and man-made conflicts in Ukraine and South Africa. A year that ushered in Rishi Sunack into office as the first British-Asian and Hindu prime minister of the UK and Nelson Chamisa as a new leader of political formation with unknown leadership structures.
The Republic of South Africa made the first major political headlines in January when their Parliament building was gutted by fire. Firefighters worked for hours to extinguish the blaze. The fire sparked debate about the future of the chamber's design and subsequent location. To some observers, the fire offers a break from the colonial past as the building's neoclassical columns and Cape Dutsh additions will be replaced by features that better reflects South Africa's diversity. A 49-year old man was arrested and charged with a string of crimes including terrorism. The suspect, Zandile Mafe set off bombs inside the seat of government in the early hours of January 2.
While the South Africans were preoccupied with firefighting, the Sudanese took to the streets to protest. The demonstrations forced Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok to resign in January, leaving the army in full control. The human rights situation in Sudan continues to be of serious concern with the clampdown on freedom of opinion and expression on the rise. At least 79 civilians have been killed and more than 2,000 wounded in anti-coup protests. The military has promised to protect the democratic transition until Sudan is ready to hold free and fair elections. Harmonized elections are pencilled for July, 2023 and until then, demonstrations are likely to continue.
Back in South Africa, the Judicial Commission of Inquiry into allegations of State Capture, Corruption and Fraud in the Public Sector better known as the Zondo Commission came to a close this year, with the first report being published in January. More than 300 witnesses testified before the commission and most testimonials shared with the inquiry focused on corruption at state institutions during Jacob Zuma's administration (2009-2018). The inquiry costed the state R1 billion and the commission revealed serious state capture allegations against the Gupta brothers. The payment of kickbacks to secure government contracts by EOH Group and the harassment and persecution of whistleblowers.
Zimbabwe had it's own fair share of political drama. First, President Emmerson Mnangagwa fired his State Security Minister, Owen "Mhuda" Ncube. He was shown the exit door because of "conduct inappropriate for a minister of government" read part of the statement issued by the Chief Secretary to the Office of the President and Cabinet, Dr. Misheck Sibanda. The former CIO Minister together with his colleague from the Midlands province, Honourable July Moyo who is the Local Government Minister were accused of plotting to destroy President Mnangagwa.
Second, aspiring national president, Nelson Chamisa made headlines on January 25 when he launched a new political party; Citizens Coalition for Change, (CCC). Chamisa dumped the MDC colors and adopted yellow. It was a noble idea for Chamisa to divorce himself from the MDC Alliance and establish a new brand with a better color and less confusion. The "Change" however in the new name is a cause for concern. What change will the citizens coalition push for suppose they win political power in the future? Different words like progress and democracy, (CCP) or (CCD) would have made greater impact at any given point of the organisational journey.
To date, the party ideology and leadership structures of the yellow brigade are still unknown. despite the fact that the country is crossing over to the election season. Political parties around the world elect a leader at an elective conference but this never happened for Nelson Chamisa. It remains a total mystery for many people on how the new political outfit will select or elect candidates for next year's general election especially after CCC MPs accepted the US$40 000 housing loans.
It was a different month of love for the Ukrainians; a month of hate and attacks, bullets and bombs, destruction and disorder, injuries and death as Russia invaded their country in the early hours of February 24. The war in Ukraine has triggered the largest refugee crisis in Europe since World War II and the invasion has also caused global food shortages. As of November 2022, 7.8 million Ukrainians had fled the country and the United Nations General Assembly has condemned the invasion calling on President Putin to withdraw his troops from Ukraine. Meanwhile, President Zelensiky's heroic servant leadership will go down in memory lane as one of the best in contemporary political history.
A dark cloud turned over the Mahoka family in February when veteran politician, Sarah Mahoka died in a car crash. The ex-lawmaker and Hurungwe East legislator died on the spot after sustaining serious injuries. Another African veteran breathed his last on March 11, this time it was the former President of Zambia, Rupiah Banda. He was 85. Comrade Banda served as the fourth president of Zambia, from 2008 to 2011, taking over from Levy Mwanawasa.
Zimbabwe went to the polls on March 26. The yellow movement made history by winning 19 seats in the National Assembly and several local government seats in the by-elections. The launch of the CCC party surprised the ruling government. The by-elections in CCC strongholds boosted the entity's momentum but there are circumstances of MPs who carry the MDC-A totem even though they are also CCC members. They are dangerous and they are likely to concoct conspiracies of division come 2023.
The star of the first-quarter of 2022 is Justice Jackson! On April 7, the U.S Senate voted to confirm Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson as the first Black woman Supreme Court Justice, with 3 GOP Senators joining Democrats to vote in favor of her confirmation. The confirmation marks a historic milestone for the federal judiciary.
Operation Dudula broke out in Soweto but has since spread to other parts of the country. The Afrophobia operation has largely targeted black migrants especially Zimbabwean foreigners. "Dudula" means to "force out" in isiZulu and it is unfortunate that Elvis Nyathi, a Zimbabwean national was burnt to death in Diepslot, Johannesburg because he didn't have a passport. Operation Dudula states that its campaign is aimed at addressing crime, unemployment and poor health services caused by an "influx of illegal immigrants".
The political and economic pressure from Operation Dudula resulted in the government of South Africa terminating the Zimbabwe Exemption Permits (ZEPs) for about 200,000 Zimbabweans living and working in South Africa. The decision appears to be an attempt at job reservation to appease voters before the 2024 elections but for an industry with the most concentration of migrant workers, the sudden move is economically unviable and also unfair to employers who are trying to recover from the effects of lockdowns and the Covid-19 pandemic.
It was a very cold winter for President Cyril Ramaphosa. A winter that Arthur Fraser, the former head of State Security Agency, alleged that Cyril Ramaphosa concealed the theft of more than US$4 million from his Phala Phala game farm in Limpopo province in February 2020 and that the suspects were illegally detained and interrogated. The corruption see-saw continues to escalate in South Africa and several opposition political parties have called for a full investigation into the theft, including whether the amount of foreign currency allegedly stolen had been declared to the South African Revenue Service. It remains unknown how Ramaphosa will lead the fight against corruption in South Africa after this scandal.
Ramaphosa is not different from his predecessor, Jacob Zuma. The Phala-Phala truth is damaging to both the ANC and Ramaphosa but ANC MPs abused their majority in parliament to shield Ramaphosa from being held accountable and subsequently impeached. It's not the first time that the ANC Members of Parliament have used their majority in parliament to undermine their constitutional obligations and the oath of office to defend a corrupt president. Then it was Nkandla, now its Phala-Phala. Then it was cattle kraals now its couches stuffed with United States dollars. Then it was President Jacob Zuma now its President Cyril Ramaphosa.
A figure so difficult not to love breathed his last on June 5. A law lecturer and renowned international blogger, a father, friend and husband, a staunch Arsenal supporter and Twitter fanatic, Dr. Alex Magaisa. He was instrumental in crafting Zimbabwe's 2013 constitution. Apart from that, Dr. Magaisa served as an adviser to Dr. Morgan Tsvangirai, the late former prime minister of Zimbabwe. The African Manner will remember Magaisa for his authoritative voice on Zimbabwe's legal and political matters through his contributions on his blog, the Big Saturday Read.
Business owners at the centre of a scandal that led to former president Jacob Zuma's resignation had a bad experience in June just like their corrupt counterpart, Mr. Ramaphosa. Two wealthy Indian-born busines moguls better known as the Gupta brothers were arrested in Dubai. The brothers were taken into custody after an Interpol red notice was issued to arrest the family because of corruption.
Former UK Prime Minister, Boris Johnson was topical in the month of July after overseeing a 9.1 percent inflation rise that largely led to his downfall. Many of the reasons were outside Boris Johnson's control. Russia's invasion of Ukraine for example, has led to rises in oil prices and the cost of food. His MPs forgot that three years ago, Boris Johnson led the Conservatives to their biggest election victory since 1987. Johnson resigned after droves of top government officials quit their jobs in attempt to engulf Johnson. Among other things, Boris Johnson will be remembered for Brexit and steering Britain through Covid-19.
Dr. Phophi Ramathuba was the first to trend in the month of August after she was seen in a video chastising the woman who had been involved in a car accident in Zimbabwe but went to South Africa for treatment. The video went viral on social media platforms and she was heard telling the helpless patient that "You are killing my health system". Ramathuba also told the patient that President Mnangagwa does not contribute to South Africa's health budget and that her country's health system is not a charity.
Angola went to the polls in August in a historic harmonized election contest. The ruling party, the People's Movement for the Liberation of Angola (MPLA) won with 51.17 percent of the vote cast giving incumbent president Joao Lourenco a second term. It was a different chorus for Kenya's veteran opposition leader Raila Odinga who lost to former vice president William Ruto. In Lesotho, a new party led by a political rookie won the most votes but fell short of securing the parliamentary majority.
Mary Elizabeth Truss became the shortest-serving prime minister and leader of the Conservative party in the history of the United Kingdom. Liz Truss took over from Boris Johnson and unlike Margaret Thatcher who served for more than 11 years, Truss stepped down as prime minister on the fifteenth day of her term in office amid a souring government turmoil. Truss defeated Rishi Sunack in the Conservative party leadership election. Truss was appointed by Queen Elizabeth II two days before the monarch's death.
On 8 September 2022 at 15:10 BST, Elizabeth II, Queen of the United Kingdom and the other Commonwealth realms and the longest-reigning British monarch died of old age at Balmoral Castle in Scotland at the age of 96. She was succeeded by her eldest son, Charles III.
After his election defeat in August, Rishi Sunack's fate awaited him in October when he took the oath of office to become the first British Asian and Hindu prime minister in the UK. He is the fourth prime minister in a space of seven years after a plethora of resignations from Theresa May, Boris Johnson and Liz Truss.
There are many ZANU PF stalwarts who were chucked out of the party but today they are back and recently took high positions within the party without a single word of apology because they knew that they did nothing wrong and chose to respect and maintain their dignity. The story however was different for Jonathan Moyo and Patrick Zhuwao. People expected the pair to stand by their political principles even though they were not wanted and accepted by the opposition. Trading one's political desperation with an apology letter is an act of political desperation and Professor Moyo and Zhuwao were in the cold for too long hence they were desperate to go back home in the month of November.
On a sad note, former Chinese President, Jiang Zemin died at the age of 96, leaving the country in despondency as civilians protest against lockdown restrictions, a rise in Covid-19 cases and unfair government practices.
They start, they finish. The final political lap of 2022 saw the South African National Assembly voting against starting impeachment proceedings against President Cyril Ramaphosa over the Section 89 report. Ramaphosa survived because the ANC caucus in parliament voted against the report despite the loud outcry from opposition MPs who voted in favor of adopting the report. Soon after that parliament session, the African National Congress held and adjourned its 55th National Conference that saw Cyril Ramaphosa and Paul Mashatile being elected as party president and deputy president respectively. Comrade Gwede Mantashi was elected as the National Chairperson of the ANC while Comrade Fikile Mbalula will serve as the Secretary General.
Three women might have made it into the top seven of the National Executive Committee but despite a balanced gender representation, Gauteng province is over represented. The committee is not representative of all the provinces in South Africa and not only that, the committee is dominated by comrades of the same race and age group.
We put the year 2022 to rest. We celebrate all the victories and accomplishments while at the same time moving into the new year with fundamental lessons from all the defeats and failures. We remain optimistic about 2023 and until then,
Happy New Year!
@JSimangO
.jpg)
The Late Queen Elizabeth II