Chairman Smith on the hearing: “With the fall of longtime strongman Robert Mugabe at the end of last year, Zimbabwe now has the chance to fulfill the promise which independence brought but which Mugabe stifled.  Once the breadbasket of sub-Saharan Africa, Zimbabwe’s citizens have been able to succeed as entrepreneurs in neighboring countries but have been thwarted at home; the country now has a chance to right itself. Our hearing will take a clear-eyed look at the prospects for authentic democratization and rule-of-law reforms, while recalling that many of Mugabe’s cronies – including current President Emmerson Mnangagwa – remain in power.”

Opening Statements

Full text of Chairman Ed Royce’s opening statement

Witnesses

The Honorable Charles A. Ray
(Former U.S. Ambassador to Zimbabwe)
[full text of statement]
[truth in testimony form]

Ms. Elizabeth Lewis
Regional Deputy Director
Africa Division
International Republican Institute
[full text of statement]
[truth in testimony form]

Mr. Ben Freeth
Executive Director
Mike Campbell Foundation
[full text of statement]
[truth in testimony form]

Chipo Dendere, Ph.D.
Visiting Assistant Professor
Amherst College
[full text of statement]
[truth in testimony form]

____________________________

Hearing transcript (PDF)