More African leaders speak out against Mugabe


More African leaders speak out against Mugabe
By Tichaona Sibanda
22 October 2008
 
As the deadlock over the power-sharing deal rumbles on more African leaders are putting the blame squarely on Robert Mugabe' shoulders for the delay and disrespecting his opponent Morgan Tsvangirai.

 

ANC leader Jacob Zuma, widely expected to take over as South Africa’s president after the 2009 presidential election, thought it was weird’ that the regime refused to grant Tsvangirai a passport to attend talks in Swaziland. He was speaking to journalists in Washington on Tuesday after talks with US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice.

 

Reports said Zuma shared the same views with Rice that a quick solution in Zimbabwe was essential for the sake of the people and the country.

 

We also agreed that the Zimbabwean leaders should be urged to complete the package which is already on the table so that it is implemented for the sake of the Zimbabwean people,’ he said.

 

Dr Handel Mlilo, the MDC chief representative in Washington, said Zuma’s description of the passport saga was mild’ and urged the ANC leader to be tough on the regime. Mugabe has disrespected a lot of individuals and institutions for a long time now and it is high time some of these emerging African leaders confronted him,’ Mlilo said. A group of Zimbabwean youths marched on the ANC headquarters on Tuesday and called on SADC and African Union to resolve the current talks’ deadlock.

 

The Zimbabwe Revolutionary Movement also called on Zuma to take over the role of mediation from Thabo Mbeki. They presented a petition to the ANC calling for a full SADC summit on the crisis, as opposed to the SADC Troika summit, which has been delayed until next week, due to Mugabe’s refusal to give Tsvangirai a passport.

 

 In Nairobi, Kenya, Prime Minister Raila Odinga on Wednesday said it was inappropriate and unacceptable that Tsvangirai was recently denied a passport by the regime to attend a regional summit to discuss the country’s crisis in Swaziland.

Odinga appealed to the international community and African governments to take a firm stand on Zimbabwe and find a lasting solution to the stalled negotiations between Mugabe and Tsvangirai. It’s high time those African governments and also the international community said enough is enough,’ he said.

 

The country’s economic woes are continuing unabated amid a growing humanitarian crisis and record inflation.

 

 

Post published in: News

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *