By Lance Guma
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HARARE – President Robert Mugabe has used the launch of his Zanu PF party election manifesto on Friday to describe South African President Jacob Zuma’s international relations advisor Lindiwe Zulu as a “stupid and idiotic woman.”
After MDC-T leader Morgan Tsvangirai won the presidential election in March 2008, the electoral commission stuffed with Mugabe loyalists withheld results for over 5 weeks, a period many suspect was used to massage the figures.
Eventually Tsvangirai was denied an outright majority forcing the need for an election run-off. In the run-up to this Mugabe unleashed members of the security forces who murdered over 500 perceived opposition activists. This forced Tsvangirai to withdraw leaving Mugabe to contest against himself.
The regional grouping SADC intervened and led by the then South African President Thabo Mbeki helped cobble together a shaky power sharing agreement which stopped the bloodshed. A South African facilitation team led by Lindiwe Zulu was assigned to help oversee implementation of the agreement.
But relations have soured gradually between Zulu’s team and an intransigent Zanu PF who have been accused by the MDC formations of violating the very same power sharing deal that kept them in power even after electoral defeat. Zulu has been vocal about the need for reforms.
“An ordinary woman says ‘no you can’t have elections on July 31?’” Mugabe said today. “Really did such a person think we as a country would take heed of this street woman’s stupid utterances?”
On Friday a defiant Mugabe even threatened to pull out of SADC if “they do something stupid” after Zimbabwe’s Constitutional Court again stuffed with his sympathisers backed his unilateral call for elections to be held on July 31.
“We are in SADC voluntarily. If SADC decides to do stupid things we can withdraw,” the 89 year old Zanu PF leader said.
Last month SADC had leaned on Mugabe urging him to delay the poll by at least 14 days to allow more time for crucial reforms to set in. But Mugabe’s party worried about his ailing health appear determined to have an earlier election date without any meaningful reforms.
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