This archive report was first published on 21 November 2019.
On Wednesday, Zimbabwe's police violently dispersed supporters of the main opposition party in Harare, despite the leader's willingness to engage in dialogue with President Emmerson Mnangagwa.
The incident occurred just a day after Movement for Democratic Change leader Nelson Chamisa expressed his readiness to hold talks with President Mnangagwa, following a statement by South Africa's International Relations minister Naledi Pandor that problems facing Zimbabwe were mainly political.
South Africa's minister had announced a shift in her country's approach to Zimbabwe's crisis, emphasizing the need for 'practical solutions' to end the current crisis.
"The political formations in Zimbabwe remain at loggerheads and have apparent deep antipathy towards each other, which makes joint decision-making and planning extremely difficult," Dr Pandor said.
"It seems clear that even as we support the call for an end to economic sanctions, the political dynamics that we observe are inextricably linked to the economic solutions. Thus the politics and the economic, as well as the social, need to be confronted simultaneously," she added.
Chamisa's opposition had rejected President Mnangagwa's election victory last year, claiming the polls were rigged.
As the crisis in Zimbabwe deepens, the opposition has accused President Mnangagwa of adopting the same heavy-handed tactics used by his predecessor, Robert Mugabe.
