Tanzanian President grills Mugabe

By Tererai Karimakwenda
16 March, 2007

The images of battered opposition leaders and activists in Zimbabwe are grabbing headlines around the world, bringing strong condemnation of the Mugabe regime. But the man at the centre of it all has remained stubborn, accusing the opposition of initiating violence by attacking the police. It was hoped that a visit by the Tanzanian President Jakaya Kikwete to Harare Thursday would help pressure Robert Mugabe to obey the rule of law, but at a press conference after their talks, Mugabe said the West could “go hang.” Speaking on Al Jazeera TV on Friday Mugabe also threatened diplomats criticising his regime, saying they would be thrown out.

Observers said the young Tanzanian President looked as if he was in awe of Mugabe, and may have been the wrong choice to take on the defiant dictator. But political analyst and lecturer Dr. John Makumbe said these impressions are incorrect. He described the Tanzanian leader as “a tough cookie.” Makumbe recounted how Kikwete, soon after he was elected, removed the Tanzanian ambassador to Zimbabwe who was seen as a ZANU-PF “boot licker” and replaced him with a much stronger one. Makumbe said Kikwete had grilled Mugabe for 5 hours during his visit. “What SADC leader has ever kept Mugabe’s attention for that long?” he asked.

Makumbe explained that as chairman of the SADC organ on politics, defence and security, Kikwete has the responsibility to deal with the crisis in Zimbabwe, as SADC have finally decided to take the situation more seriously. Observers say he should have also visited the opposition officials who are recovering from police inflicted injuries. Mugabe stated that the Tanzanian president was visiting as a brother and ally, and no details of their discussions were revealed.

More developments came from South Africa where it was reported that Mugabe had been pressured by that country to harmonise presidential and parliamentary elections in 2008. This would help South Africa avoid negative publicity during the World Cup in 2010, when parliamentary elections due in Zimbabwe were likely to produce violence. The plan has been criticised by Zimbabwean analysts who said South Africa has maintained a hands-off approach towards the crisis next door, but was now concerned about tourism during the world football finals. The Mail & Guardian newspaper reported that insiders within Zimbabwe’s ruling party said they will use the 2010 World Cup in South Africa to justify the 2008 harmonisation.
Also in South Africa, the Nobel Peace Prize winner Archbishop Desmond Tutu had strong words against police brutality in Zimbabwe. He said: “As Africans we should hang our heads in shame," and "How can what is happening in Zimbabwe elicit hardly a word of concern let alone condemnation from us leaders of Africa?" South Africa’s President Thabo Mbeki is one of the leaders Tutu was criticising. According to Associated Press news agency Mbeki used his weekly African National Congress newsletter to urge South Africans to use the annual Human Rights Day next week to address racism in his country. But there was not a mention of Zimbabwe.
In Namibia the National Society for Human Rights held a demonstration Friday to protest what they said was their “government’s disturbing silence on the situation in Zimbabwe.’ NSHR executive director Phil ya Nangoloh said Namibia should make it clear that the human rights, humanitarian and human security situation in Zimbabwe is totally unacceptable. He called upon the SADC region to collectively and publicly reprimand Mugabe, condemn violence and human rights abuses, and impose additional targeted sanctions against the Mugabe regime.