Kenyan PM describes Zimbabwe as Africa's 'eyesore'

By Tererai Karimakwenda
June 17, 2008

As the youth militia, police and soldiers in Zimbabwe continued their violent campaign of abductions, torture and assaults just one week before the crucial election, the Kenyan Prime Minister Raila Odinga on Tuesday spoke out against fellow African leaders for remaining silent on the abuses.

Speaking on a trip to Washington, Odinga is quoted as saying: "Zimbabwe is an eyesore on the African continent ... an example of how not to do it. I'm sad that so many heads of state in Africa have remained quiet when disaster is looming in Zimbabwe,"
Odinga added that the South African government needed to speak out strongly against Mugabe and impunity in Zimbabwe.

Last week 40 prominent African leaders, including former heads of state, Nobel Laureates, famous musicians and former top UN officials issued a public letter calling on the Zimbabwe government to end the violence and conduct peaceful elections. Notably the list of signatories did not include any current African leaders.

Odinga made the comments in a discussion run by the Centre for Strategic and International Studies in Washington. Just last week he blasted the Zimbabwe authorities during a visit to Cape Town, and he said that he had been "declared enemy number one in Zimbabwe" since then.
But this did not stop Odinga from pointing out the truth. He reportedly said: "African leaders should be able to stand up and say what is happening in Zimbabwe is unacceptable".