DA Criticizes ANC for President Ramaphosa’s Visit to Zimbabwe

Johannesburg – The Democratic Alliance (DA) has criticized President Cyril Ramaphosa for his visit to Zimbabwean President Emmerson Mnangagwa at his farm.

While the South African Presidency characterized the trip on Sunday, 3 May 2026, as a “working visit,” the DA strongly condemned President Ramaphosa’s unofficial visit to Mnangagwa’s private residence.

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This visit coincides with ZANU-PF’s efforts to cement its dictatorship in Zimbabwe through the recently announced Constitution Amendment Bill No. 3.

The contentious Bill seeks to introduce sweeping proposals that may extend presidential terms for ZANU-PF under the pretense of technical reforms to electoral cycles and governance frameworks.

“It is notable that both President Ramaphosa and International Relations and Cooperation Minister (DIRCO), Ronald Lamola, remained conspicuously silent when President Mnangagwa and his government arrested opposition leader, Tendai Biti, on the afternoon of 21 March 2026,” stated Ryan Smith, DA Spokesperson on International Relations and Cooperation.

Biti, leader of the Constitution Defenders Forum (CDF), was taken into custody alongside other party members and a local journalist in Mutare while encouraging public engagement regarding the proposed constitutional changes.

The DA, the second-largest party in the Government of National Unity (GNU) led by the African National Congress (ANC), publicly criticized its partner.

“While the Presidency has attempted to frame this visit as a ‘catch-up between neighbours,’ it is evident that once again, the ANC’s foreign policy neglects our constitutional values of freedom, democracy, and human rights in favor of supporting a fraternity of despots that the ANC relies on for regional assistance,” Smith remarked.

“Moreover, the presence of suspected Zimbabwean businessmen Wicknell Chivhayo and Kudakwashe Tagwirei, often referred to as the Zimbabwean Guptas, raises significant concerns about President Ramaphosa’s apparent endorsement of regional corruption and international state capture.”

Smith questioned the purpose of the R1 billion Zondo Commission if President Ramaphosa hadn’t learned from its findings.

“The democratic decline in Zimbabwe is the primary reason behind the immigration crisis South Africa has faced since the late 90s, which places immense pressure on civic and social services and fuels societal divisions within our country,” Smith added.

“The responsibility for the plight of Zimbabweans fleeing to South Africa lies not with the people seeking better lives but with President Ramaphosa and the ANC who turn a blind eye to human rights violations and democratic deterioration out of political convenience.”

“Populist politicians in South Africa who incite xenophobia and ethnic discord are merely exploiting a problem that the ANC itself has fostered.”

Smith stated that as long as South Africa refrains from condemning dictators and human rights violators on the continent, it will remain a primary refuge for those refugees created by the ANC’s negligence.

He further noted, “This is yet another instance of the ANC’s diplomatic hypocrisy, selectively addressing human rights abuses abroad while overlooking similar issues in our vicinity.”

“The ANC does not confront human rights violations from a principled standpoint, but rather when it can extract political benefit.”

Smith emphasized that it is clear the ANC “has no genuine interest” in the regional stability of the Southern African Development Community (SADC) and its members.

“The South African government continues to act as if there are no issues in neighboring democracies, ignoring the massacre of civilians by their governments and the violent suppression of opposition,” Smith stated.

“The ANC’s disconnection between South Africa’s diplomatic responsibilities as a regional authority and its political party interests poses the most severe threat to SADC’s peace and prosperity.”

As part of the GNU, the DA declared its opposition to the ANC’s strategy of cozying up to regional dictators while disregarding the harsh realities faced by millions of persecuted Zimbabweans living in uncertainty.

“It is unsustainable and fundamentally wrong for the ANC to perpetuate the status quo of democratic erosion on the African continent,” Smith concluded.

“Tens of thousands of South Africans sacrificed their lives fighting for freedom, yet today’s ANC aligns itself with the continent’s oppressors.”