Send the troops into Zimbabwe, says Kenya's Raila Odinga

Mr Odinga was himself a victim of election-rigging, when President Kibaki was declared the winner of disputed polls in Kenya last year.

Opinion Zone

24 November 2008

Raila Odinga, the Kenyan Prime Minister, broke ranks with African leaders yesterday and called for international peacekeepers to be sent to Zimbabwe.

“Because there is no legitimate government in Zimbabwe, the AU [African Union] should consider sending a peacekeeping force,” Mr Odinga said. “This is what is going to send a strong signal to one Mr Robert Mugabe.”

Mr Odinga was himself a victim of election-rigging, when President Kibaki was declared the winner of disputed polls in Kenya last year. He has been critical of the Mugabe regime, but also of other African leaders who turn a blind eye to Zimbabwe’s suffering.

“To many African leaders the situation in Zimbabwe has returned to normal,” Mr Odinga said. “This is because these leaders carry the same baggage like Mugabe.”

He added: “Mugabe was a freedom fighter who spent many years in the jail, but I don’t believe that when you are a freedom fighter you acquire a title deed to own the nation.” -Times Online

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