Mandela’s wife lashes out at Mugabe
By Alex Bell
24 January 2009

Graca Machel, the wife of former South African president Nelson Mandela this week became the latest prominent activist to speak out against the Robert Mugabe regime, publicly calling it an illegitimate rule.

Machel, whose influence as the widow of Mozambique’s first president has given her heady weight as a rights activist, was part of the delegation of the Elders that was barred from visiting Zimbabwe last year. The group was denied visa rights to visit the country on a fact finding mission in a move that emphasised the dictatorship’s determination to keep the country’s devastating crises under wraps.

Speaking at Wednesday’s launch of the ‘Save Zimbabwe Now’ campaign, Machel described her heart is ‘bleeding’ because of the atrocities being committed in Zimbabwe and called for the immediate release of Jestina Mukoko and her fellow abductees. Machel also aimed severe criticism at SADC leaders for failing to act, saying the Zimbabwe crisis was no longer a ‘Zimbabwean issue’, but one that SADC has a responsibility to solve.

Machel explained that: “The blood of those dying on a daily basis in Zimbabwe will be laid at the feet of the Southern African Development Community leadership, as they are failing to undertake duties they are elected to do.”

The wait-and-see approach that African Union and SADC leaders have adopted in regards to the Zimbabwe situation was also thrown into sharp relief when Machel admitted that the approach had failed. She argued that “somehow one has to accept we stood and waited for too long.”