African leaders urged to act against Mugabe

Mugabe's security had to use force to ward off hordes of journalists

The National Democratic Convention (Nadeco) has lambasted African Union leaders for warmly welcoming Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe to the AU Summit in Egypt after winning the one-man election.

Nadeco says African leaders have been too silent about the situation in Zimbabwe. The party's president, Hawu Mbatha, says until African leaders decide to isolate Mugabe, Zimbabwe will never taste democracy.

“… They should have expressed their displeasure at what Mugabe is doing and they should have taken the side of the people of Zimbabwe instead of trying to keep the camaraderie spirit with a person who is selling out on the struggle and the revolution of freedom in Africa,” says Mbatha.

Meanwhile, Archbishop Emeritus Desmond Tutu has echoed Mbatha’s views and called on African Leaders to not recognise the discredited Zimbabwean leader.

Speaking at a discussion dubbed Difficult Dialogue at the University of Cape Town, Tutu said Mugabe is a struggle hero who became a disaster and what is happening in Zimbabwe is like a dream that turned into a nightmare.

He likened Mugabe to the late Ian Smith, who had said that democracy would never happen in Zimbabwe during his time. Tutu accused him of having presided over torture and intimidation in order to grab power in the recent run-off presidential elections.