President Emmerson Mnangagwa is preparing to host the Southern African Development Community (SADC) summit in Harare this August in what could be the most politically charged gathering of regional leaders in years. For Mnangagwa, this summit is not just a routine diplomatic event — it is a make-or-break moment for his legitimacy as Zimbabwe’s leader, tainted by years of controversial elections, repression, and economic collapse.

At the heart of the storm is the damning SADC election observer mission report from last year. That report — led by Zambian opposition leader and former Vice-President Nevers Mumba — found Zimbabwe’s August 2023 elections to be deeply flawed and in breach of the country’s constitution, electoral laws, and SADC’s own democratic guidelines. It was a rare rebuke from a usually cautious regional body, and it struck a severe blow to Mnangagwa’s already fragile claim to democratic credibility.

Now, as he prepares to assume the rotating SADC chairmanship, Mnangagwa is on a mission to rewrite the narrative. Behind the scenes, he is waging a diplomatic war to isolate Zambian President Hakainde Hichilema — the man seen as the architect of Zimbabwe’s regional embarrassment. Diplomatic insiders say Mnangagwa is lobbying fellow leaders to undermine Hichilema’s influence in SADC and to ensure the damning report is buried or ignored.

The stakes couldn’t be higher. For Mnangagwa, this summit offers a golden opportunity to stage-manage an image of regional acceptance, complete with newly built villas, freshly tarred roads, and tightly choreographed meetings. He wants to project power, control, and unity — even as his own people suffer under economic strain and political repression.

But the reality is far more complicated. Hichilema remains a thorn in Mnangagwa’s side, having already led regional efforts to reject Zimbabwe’s sham elections by organizing emergency SADC meetings in Zambia and Angola. His bold appointment of Mumba to lead the observer mission was a game-changer — one that exposed the extent of Zimbabwe’s democratic decay and triggered open hostility from ZANU PF officials.

Mnangagwa’s counterstrategy has included cozying up to former Zambian president Edgar Lungu, whom he hopes to see return to power in 2026. Despite being born and raised in Zambia, Mnangagwa has found himself locked in a bitter regional rivalry with Hichilema — a rivalry that now threatens to split SADC along lines of principle versus patronage.

There are even whispers that Hichilema may boycott the summit altogether, a move that would send a powerful signal of defiance and underline the growing tension between Harare and Lusaka. His absence would expose the deep fractures in the regional bloc and put Mnangagwa’s leadership bid under the spotlight before it even begins.

Beyond the personal rivalries and power plays, this summit represents a broader struggle for the soul of Southern Africa. It is a test of whether SADC can hold its member states to account or whether it will continue to be a gentlemen’s club where autocrats are protected and democratic principles are optional.

Mnangagwa is hoping that time, money, and regional fatigue will work in his favor. But civil society, opposition parties, and ordinary Zimbabweans have not forgotten the abuses of last year’s election — nor have they forgiven the state’s brutal crackdown on dissent in the months that followed.

The Harare summit will be a pageant of ceremony and speeches. But beneath the surface, it will be a battleground. A battle not just for Mnangagwa’s legitimacy, but for the credibility of SADC itself. Will the region stand for democracy and accountability? Or will it look the other way, once again, as Zimbabwe slides deeper into authoritarianism?

The answers may come not in the official communiqués, but in who shows up, who speaks out, and who stays silent. And the eyes of Zimbabwe — and the world — will be watching.