<B>By Roukaya KASENALLY</B>

It has been a decade since President Mbeki invited Africa to embark and embrace what he termed as the African Renaissance. He staunchly believed that the African Renaissance would offer a road map for the rebirth and renewal of the black continent that has been marked by decades of colonial exploitation, oppressive dictators, civil and ethnic wars and unequal / unfair trade. It is interesting to note that a crucial aspect of this renaissance is the triumph of democracy over authoritarianism. Unfortunately, the crisis in Zimbabwe does not tally at all with this vision of a new Africa. In fact instead of democracy there is autocracy, instead of free and fair elections, the elections will be stolen and instead of hope and freedom there will be despair and oppression.

Despite the chorus of condemnation and protest from the West and certain African leaders not to go ahead with today?s election, Mugabe has disdainfully rejected any advice ? branding it as colonial interference or meddling into affairs of a sovereign state!

It was obvious that following the outcome of the March 29 Legislative and Presidential results that Mugabe would never allow Tsvangirai's MDC to claim victory. In fact, his promise to wage war was carried out through a well engineered and orchestrated campaign of terror and brutality which saw hundreds of people murdered / abducted, thousands tortured and ten of thousands displaced. The question that many seem to be asking ? why was the situation in Zimbabwe allowed to deteriorate so badly?

To a certain extent the answer lies in the mantra popularized by the African Renaissance ? African problems require African solutions. In fact, the unwillingness for the African leaders and especially those of the SADC region to call Mugabe to order in a forceful manner has allowed the old tyrant to pursue his plans to steal the elections and proclaim himself as the new president of Zimbabwe. However, in this sea of utter desperation, a glimmer of hope seems to be possible with the recent position / declaration of some of the African leaders expressing their exasperation, discontent and even profound embarrassment of the Mugabe regime. It is imperative that African leaders continue to build upon the momentum of discontent and disapproval as it is the only way to de-legitimise and isolate Mugabe and his criminal cabal. In fact, this was eloquently put by a leading British editorialist some days back ? ?being made a pariah by Western countries is one thing whilst being made a pariah by other African rulers is something else?.

The West has initiated and started to put into practice a number of targeted sanctions against Mugabe and his cronies. However, the real crunch will be felt if the neighbouring African countries start to exert pressure and sanctions on Zimbabwe which depends in a significant manner on its neighbours for its economic survival. No doubt, such a plan contains a number of risk factors that might contribute to the further suffering of the Zimbabwean people but for many is the only way that can permanently starve and paralyse the Mugabe regime. The other option that has been occasionally mentioned but not seriously envisaged is a full fledge military intervention. In fact, Africa has witnessed its fair share of wars and genocides and one should not wait for Zimbabwe to go down the road of Rwanda or Darfur to act!

Today?s electoral verdict is known beforehand as Mugabe with impunity stole the elections and will unashamedly proclaim himself the winner. However, this must be the end point for Mugabe and it is imperative that both the African Union and SADC move away from talk summits to action driven solutions. This weekend?s AU summit will in fact offer an apt opportunity to make the African Renaissance a reality or to slip forever into the heart of darkness.