Free Zim youths corner Tanzanian president on Zimbabwe crisis

By Lance Guma
16 January 2007

United Kingdom based pressure group Free-Zim Youth UK on Monday cornered Tanzanian president Jakata Kikwete into commenting on the crisis in Zimbabwe. Kikwete is on a two-day official visit to the UK and was addressing diplomats, investors and Tanzanian students at the Royal Institute of International Affairs (Chatham House) on the issue of development in Africa. The event which was also addressed by the UK Secretary of State for International Development, Hilary Benn was under the theme, ‘Development in Africa: Transforming the Public Service.’

Wellington Chibanguza from Free-Zim used the question and time session to ask Kikwete what he had done as Chair of the SADC organ on security and politics to address the oppression and repression being faced by many people in sub-Saharan African countries like Zimbabwe. President Kikwete responded by saying, ‘That's a hard question, the situation is a serious one and really needs a solution. We really need to do something to help the suffering of the people of Zimbabwe, but we don't deal like what the West do in dealing with issues on the media, but SADC will do something to save suffering Zimbabweans.’

Alois Mbawara who leads the pressure group says there is already talk that several SADC states are advocating the setting up of a Ministerial Action Group to probe the Mugabe regime. He says this is why there are putting pressure on SADC leaders to prevent the action group from becoming ‘just another smokescreen SADC will use to wash their hands of Zimbabwe.’ Mbawara said Mugabe is using the ‘African’ card to his advantage and there was a need for opposition forces to challenge this by engaging their African counterparts.

The youths say they posed as Tanzanian students to get into the venue using different names.