Zimbabwean Ambassador loses it and gets thrown out of a diplomatic function in Washington, DC

Special to the Diplomatic Pouch contributed by B`anca Glenn

An air of regal sophistication filled the Ritz-Carlton Hotel on May 25 as African ambassadors and diplomats gathered for the annual gala dinner celebrating Africa Day. But amid the usual messages of progress and challenges was a very unusual interruption rarely heard in polite diplomatic gatherings.

At first, it was all going according to script. Johnnie Carson, assistant secretary of state for African affairs, began his remarks by applauding how far Africa has come since colonial rule and reiterated the Obama administration’s support for the continent. But he also called for greater accountability, arguing that “our ability to achieve our shared long-term goals of democracy, stability and prosperity on the continent depends entirely on the integrity and effectiveness of African leadership.”

But when Carson specifically pointed fingers at Zimbabwe , which has been under ironclad rule by Robert Mugabe for the past 30 years, that criticism didn’t exactly sit well with the country’s ambassador in Washington, Machivenyika Mapuranga, who proceeded to heckle the State Department official.

In very un-ambassador-like fashion, Ambassador Machivenyika Mapuranga shouted that Carson was “talking like a good house slave” and that “we will never be an American colony” before being escorted out of the room by Ritz-Carlton staff, as audience members booed in the background.

It wasn’t your typical diplomatic disagreement, that’s for sure, but Carson took the confrontation fairly well, coolly responding, “It seems that Robert Mugabe has some friends in the room tonight.”

“You can sit in the audience in darkness, but the light will find you and the truth will find you,” he added, noting that such an outburst would never even have been tolerated under Mugabe’s regime.

The Diplomatic Pouch contacted the Zimbabwean Embassy about the incident but the embassy stated that the ambassador had no comment on the matter.

And although Carson ’s comments on Zimbabwe attracted the most attention, he had plenty of harsh words to go around.

“Despite their inspirational beginnings, many African states did not have the best of leadership in the ensuing decades of independence. Individuals committed to fairness, integrity and democratic nation building — such as Botswana ’s first president Seretse Khama and Senegal ’s first president Leopold Senghor — were exceptions. In most other cases, a range of factors including corruption, weak democratic institutions, authoritarianism and ethnic chauvinism resulted in coups, military governments, armed conflict, human rights abuses, atrocities and genocide,” Carson charged.

He bluntly added: “Many African leaders violated the core human rights and sovereignty principles enshrined in the OAU [Organization of African Unity] charter, and some treated their populations as badly if not worse than their colonial predecessors.”

In particular, he leveled criticism at Mauritania, Guinea, Niger and Madagascar, each of whom have experienced recent military coups, as well as the democratic backsliding in countries such as Côte d’Ivoire, the Central African Republic and even Nigeria, whose 2007 elections “were the most fraudulent and disorganized in the country’s history,” according to Carson.

He also lamented the ongoing violence that has wracked Somalia , Sudan and the Democratic Republic of Congo.

But Carson did note the significant strides the continent has made over the last 50 years, praising nations such as South Africa , Ghana , Rwanda and Liberia for boosting economic development and reducing conflict.

“Since the early 1990s, a growing number of African states have managed to stabilize themselves through varying combinations of improved leadership and international involvement. Although still encumbered by numerous problems, post-conflict states such as Sierra Leone , Liberia , Mozambique , Rwanda and Angola are nonetheless at peace and in varying stages of recovery and democratic transition,” he pointed out. “In the economic sphere, we have also seen notable progress in many parts of Africa , with almost a decade of sustained growth prior to the onset of the global financial crisis. Over the past two decades, Mauritius , Ghana , Rwanda , Botswana , Tanzania , Uganda and Cape Verde have liberalized their economies, embraced market reforms, and adopted pro-business policies.”

Carson concluded by quoting the words of President Barack Obama that “ Africa ’s future is up to Africans.”

And key to that future is the African Union, a 53-member bloc that was formed as a successor to the Organization of African Unity (OAU). Africa Day marks the 47th anniversary of the OAU and is a time to reflect on the challenges that continue to plague the continent — and the initiatives that are tackling those challenges.

To that end, as chief sponsors of the event, Chevron and Coca-Cola each presented videos about their corporate responsibility and commitment to African nations. Coca-Cola for instance started the Replenish Africa Initiative (RAIN) to help provide fresh water to communities throughout the continent. By 2015, the company hopes to provide at least 2 million Africans with clean water and sanitation.

On a much wider scale, Africa has made major gains in improving the health of its people, in part thanks to partnerships with the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, the U.S. President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) as well as the Global Fund to fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria.

In fact, leaders used this year’s Africa Day to recommit themselves toward achieving the health-related U.N. Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) by 2015.

“In 2001, Africa’s heads of state signed the Abuja Declaration and committed to the eventual creation of the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria, a public-private partnership and the largest multilateral financing institution in the fight against major causes of illness and mortality on our continent,” wrote Egyptian Ambassador Sameh Shoukry and Chadian Ambassador Mahamat Adam Bechir, co-chairs of the Africa Day commemorations in Washington.

“Since then, the Global Fund has fostered stronger health systems in Africa, saved the lives of millions of women and children across the continent, strengthened economies of African countries through healthier workforces, and fostered partnerships between the public and private sectors,” the envoys wrote in a recent blog on Huffington Post, noting that the African Union Summit in July will be a perfect opportunity to showcase the continent’s reinvigorated commitment to the health sector.

“I applaud this important commitment as proof that our friends in Africa are making precious resources available to protect the health and future of the continent,” said Timothy Wirth, president of the U.N. Foundation, a public charity created in 1998 with philanthropist Ted Turner’s historic $1 billion gift to support U.N. causes and activities. “As we move into a pivotal period to replenish the Global Fund, such strong leadership and dedicated resources from African nations are more important than ever,” Wirth said.

Dr. Daniel Carucci, vice president for global health at the U.N. Foundation, agreed that this proclamation is important because, although progress has been made over the past nine years, African nations “will demonstrate to their people that health is central to their efforts to improve prosperity, and will demonstrate to donor nations that they themselves are equally committed to improving health.”