Did Mnangagwa bump into Tony Blair or the encounter was choreographed by Kagame & Blair?

Mnangagwa bumps into Zimbabwe sanctions architect, ex-British premier Tony Blair

RWANDA, Kigali – President Emmerson Mnangagwa met and exchanged pleasantries Tuesday with former United Kingdom prime minister Tony Blair, the much-hated commander of Zimbabwe’s regime change agenda who also presided over sanctions against the Zanu PF-led administration soon after the turn of the century.

Both Mnangagwa and the ex-premier are in Rwanda to attend the Africa Green Revolution Forum 2022, an annual nature-conservative summit, in Kigali.

The Zimbabwean leader later posted an image of his meeting with Blair on his Twitter handle which he captioned, “For Zimbabwe to flourish, we cannot let history hold us back.

“It was a pleasure to meet Tony Blair (@InstituteGC) and Baroness Scotland, Secretary General for the Commonwealth (@PScotlandCSG).”

Mnangagwa did not state what superlatives could have been exchanged between him and the one-time nemesis of his predecessor, late former President Robert Mugabe.

However, a smirk on his face betrayed a leader who looked smitten by a perceived former aggressor showing surprise humility towards a man who has been perceived as a Mugabe extension.

Until his death, Mugabe was an intractable hater of Blair whom he accused of meddling in his country’s affairs by funding his political opponents in an elaborate regime change scheme.

This was after Blair had rejected the once tough ruler’s requests for the former colonial master to bankroll the transfer of tracts of arable land from white owners of European descent into the hands of the black Zimbabwean majority.

What followed was a chaotic land reform process which displaced over 4 000 white farmers and human rights abuses which invited sanctions by Britain and its EU allies.

The fallout between the allies would later alter Zimbabwe’s political and economic trajectory with Mugabe pulling the country out of the Commonwealth in frustration and seeking companionship among Asian countries.

It also emerged during Mugabe’s rule in 2013 that Blair also sought then South African president Thabo Mbeki to help in the former’s military plan to overthrow Mugabe.

South Africa, Zimbabwe’s most powerful neighbour, has long played an intimate role in Zimbabwean affairs.

Blair, who had made a triumphant military intervention in Sierra Leone, was determined that Mugabe should step down.
In the last days of Mugabe’s rule, Zimbabwe’s political scene painted Blair as a pantomime villain.

Mugabe railed against Blair at political rallies, in the early years of this century, calling him “B-Liar” and saying famously at the Earth Summit in Johannesburg in 2002: “You can keep your England, I shall keep my Zimbabwe.”

Blair however remained unfazed by the years of criticism, in his decade in power at Westminster, saying he was happy to speak to Mugabe’s successor, Mnangagwa.
More than a decade on Blair – who now runs an institute promoting good governance in Africa – was asked how acrimonious his not very special relationship with Zimbabwe was, in an exclusive interview with CNBC Africa from London.

“I think acrimonious was probably an understatement!” smiled Blair more than a decade on.

“I am happy to speak to Mnangagwa, but these things are best done in a private way.

“I was actually thinking about Zimbabwe the other day. I think, at certain points, there were misunderstandings, not genuine disagreements.

“If Zimbabwe were to get its act together it would be an exciting place to be.”

Blair went further to call for reform in Zimbabwe and was effusive in his praise of the country where the politicians once scorned him.

“Zimbabwe I hope the new leadership there will take the necessary measure and reforms because Zimbabwe is a very wealthy country and I meet Zimbabweans around the world and they are very talented people. I want the government to succeed; it really is what has to be done.

“I do think it is what needs to happen there not just opening up political space, but also economic reforms to take the country to a boom. If the government there showed real commitment or reform, it would help in the future because we need Zimbabwe back as a player in the continent,” he said.

The former British Prime Minister’s encouraging words contrast the bitterness that the late President Mugabe felt for Blair in return.

The ruling Zanu PF party called its 2005 election campaign the “Anti-Blair Vote.”

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