Zimbabwe has handed over the rotational SADC chairpersonship to Madagascar during the 45th SADC summit underway in Antananarivo.

SADC member states such as Namibia, Botswana, Mozambique and Mauritius all held general elections in 2024, during the chairmanship of Zimbabwe.

Zimbabwean President Emmerson Mnangagwa applauded the peaceful transition of power in these countries and the overall progress made in the maintenance of peace across the region.

Meanwhile, both Presidents, Mnangagwa and Advocate Duma Boko of Botswana, praised Namibia’s President Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah’s accession to the presidency, saying her leadership experience would serve crucially as the region addresses socio-economic challenges.

Nandi-Ndaitwah is the first directly elected woman President since the establishment of SADC.