Bungled red tape has put the brakes on a potentially groundbreaking meeting between Deputy President Jacob Zuma and representatives of the Burundian rebel group, holding up the peace process.
Zuma, who is the chief mediator in the process aimed at ending a decade of civil war that has cost 300 000 lives, was due to meet representatives of the National Liberation Forces (FNL) in Nairobi last week.
Led by Agathon Rwasa, the FNL fights in Bujumbura Rurale, operating within sight and sound of the capital. Rwasa has refused to get involved in the Arusha process that should lead to elections by November 1.
As one of the original Hutu liberation group leaders, he believes the only way to advance is to deal with the leadership of the Tutsi minority that holds the economic and military reins despite the power sharing deal that currently has a Hutu, Domitien Ndayizeye, in the presidency.
When he visited Bujumbura last week, Zuma made telephonic contact with Rwasa and they agree to meet soon.
An advance party left Pretoria within days to set up the meeting in Kenya. However, when asked to fund the rebels’ travels to Nairobi, a South African official said there was no budget for this.
The South Africans opted against waiting around in Nairobi. Rwasa’s men put the meeting on hold.
Zuma’s spokesperson Lakela Kaunda said on her return from Kenya that there would now be no movement until after the South African election.
Rebel sources say they are deeply suspicious of attempts to draw them into the process. They say it would not have been an easy meeting for Zuma. They were planning to take South Africa to task for arming the Burundian forces — now backed by former FNL allies the Forces for Defence of Democracy (FDD), led by Pierre Nkurunziza.
By staying out of the process, the FNL is holding up both the election and the conversion of an African Union peacekeeping force into a fully-fledged United Nations mission.
This week, United Nations Secretary General Kofi Annan was given permission by the Security Council to make plans to deploy blue helmets in Burundi.
So, while Annan can approach the countries he thinks might get involved in beefing up the 2 500 Africans to the 5 500-strong forces he is proposing, the process still awaits formal approval by the 15-nation body.
Analysts who have spent years studying Burundi say trying prematurely to hold elections could have disastrous consequences. They maintain that it was half-baked elections that started the civil war.
Backed by the AU and countries of the region, however, Zuma appears determined to meet the deadlines.
His only concession has been to take a less inflammatory approach towards Rwasa.
The eyes of the world are on the Great Lakes this week as Rwanda starts UN-backed activities to commemorate the start of the 10-week genocide that killed 800 000 Tutsis and Hutu moderates in 1994.
This would have been an auspicious time to have the FNL present at the negotiating table.