GROWING calls by some countries to give the disputed region of Western Saharawi autonomy have inspired the Mthwakazi Republic Party (MRP), which says the secession resonates with their agenda for self-determination.
Kenya last week became the latest country to support Morocco's plan to grant autonomy to the disputed Western Saharawi region.
This move aligns Kenya with a growing number of African, Arab and Western countries backing Rabat in the decades-long conflict.
The conflict, which began in 1975, pits Morocco, which claims the territory as its own, against the Algeria-backed Polisario Front, which seeks independence for the desert region.
In a joint statement following talks between the two countries' foreign ministers in Rabat, Kenya described the Moroccan plan “as the most credible and realistic solution, as well as the only sustainable approach."
In April, a memorandum of understanding was signed between the Southern African Development Community and the Saharawi Arab Democratic Republic, also known as Western Sahara, in support of the latter’s pursuit of self-determination.
MRP later petitioned Sadc to facilitate negotiations with the Zimbabwean government over its calls for self-determination.
In a petition dated May 20 this year and addressed to Sadc executive secretary Elias Magosi MRP leader Mqondisi Moyo, appealed for support from the regional body.
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On Friday, Moyo said the growing support for Western Sahara’s autonomy inspired the party to pile pressure for dialogue on their self-determination agenda.
“I, therefore, urge President Emmerson Mnangagwa to ensure that Mthwakazi becomes a self-governing territory just like he purports to be wishing for Western Sahara.”
MRP is campaigning for the creation of the Mthwakazi Republic, covering parts of the Midlands and all of the Matabeleland provinces.
Mnangagwa has previously reiterated that Zimbabwe will remain a unitary State as recognised by the United Nations.
