I was visiting a Ugandan friend living in Kigali this week when news came from Zimbabwe that the opposition candidate, Morgan Tsvangirai was boycotting the June 27 Presidential election run-off. My friend Teta is a political animal and each time we meet, the conversation automatically shifts to politics. She said violence against those opposed to the Mugabe’s bad rule had become routine and could not believe why the UN was not acting to save innocent Zimbabweans. “The UN sits back and watches when our brothers in Zimbabwe are being tortured or killed. It’s only after problems directly visit them then they begin shouting on top of their voices,” Teta said, before sitting down mumbling curses against the Western nations. She was seething with anger and pain. Teta is right. It is not President Mugabe to blame for messing up Zimbabwe for twenty seven years but the UN or UA who keep talking without acting even when it seems obvious that Mugabe won’t leave power. Yesterday, The UN Security Council said it deeply regretted Zimbabwe’s decision to go ahead with the presidential poll. It said conditions for a free and fair election did not exist, but stopped short of saying it was illegitimate. And the AU commission chairman, Jean Ping emphasized that democracy and human rights were shared values of all the AU countries, where Zimbabwe is a member. “We are here playing the role of guardian of these values, so when we see there has been violations of some of these shared values, it is our duty to react and call some of our members to order,” he said. Yes, UN or AU will continue to talk, laugh and eat while innocent people in Zimbabwe wallow in poverty or getting killed daily for supporting the opposition. Who now says Mugabe is not right to rule Zimbabweans for life? Contact: ssuuna2000@yahoo.co.uk
