SADC Chairperson, President Mnangagwa, arrived in Addis Ababa last night for the 38th Ordinary Session of the African Union (AU) and immediately began a series of engagements with senior officials.
He was welcomed at Bole International Airport by Foreign Affairs and International Trade Minister Professor Amon Murwira, Zimbabwe’s Permanent Representative to the AU Commission Sophia Nyamudeza, and Ethiopia’s Minister of Transport and Logistics, Dr Alemu Sime.
The summit, themed “Justice for Africans and People of African Descent Through Reparations,” was determined by AU Heads of State and Government at last year’s session. Discussions will center on Africa’s demand for reparations, financial compensation, acknowledgment of past injustices, and policy reforms.
Prof Murwira, who had earlier attended the 46th Ordinary Session of the AU Executive Council, emphasized the significance of the theme for Zimbabwe, citing the country’s long struggle for liberation.
“We believe this is a very important topic for us, especially as Zimbabwe, after having gone through a grueling phase of our liberation struggle and facing adversity in the process,” he said. “Africa must have a unified position on this matter because it is a just cause.”
President Mnangagwa, as SADC Chairperson, has a series of bilateral engagements lined up. Prof Murwira highlighted the additional responsibilities that come with the SADC leadership, stating that the President would share regional perspectives with fellow leaders.
As a precursor to the main summit, an emergency session will be held today to address the escalating violence in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), where the M23 armed group has taken control of vast areas in the east. The crisis was recently discussed at a joint summit in Tanzania, co-chaired by President Mnangagwa and Kenyan President William Ruto in their respective capacities as SADC and East African Community (EAC) leaders.
This weekend, Angolan President João Lourenço is set to assume the AU’s rotating presidency. Additionally, the AU Commission will elect a new chair, as incumbent Moussa Faki Mahamat of Chad reaches the two-term limit.
Candidates for the position include Djibouti’s Foreign Minister Mahmoud Ali Youssouf, Kenyan politician Raila Odinga, and Madagascar’s former Foreign Minister Richard Randriamandrato, with the post reserved for East Africa in line with AU rotation policies.
