A tyrant who continues to sneer at his critics

In 1979, on recognising that white rule in British colonial Africa was doomed to defeat, Britain forced the white ruler of what was then Southern Rhodesia, Ian Smith, to the negotiating table through sanctions and other pressures to concede power to African leaders. Three men, Abel Muzorewa, Joshua Nkomo and Robert Mugabe were key figures in the power struggle eventually won by Mugabe and his Zanu-PF Party.



In the first free elections in the new country, now called Zimbabwe, Mugabe won by a landslide and was hailed as the new reforming force in the African continent. That day, as the song goes, was the day the music died. Using primarily North Korean Communist troops Mugabe, a member of the Shona tribe, spent the first decade of his heinous rule silencing any opposition from the rival Ndebele people killing an estimated 20,000 of them in that period.

Mugabe has regularly ethnically cleansed his country and accusations of genocide have been rife. One of the fundamental platforms of his policy has to been to remove land ownership from white farmers compulsorily and redistribute it to the Africans, which he has done on the basis of preference for his own supporters. Without any programme of education or gradual assimilation of farming knowledge, the once prosperous farm land of Zimbabwe has become barren , factories have closed down and the country now has the world record level of inflation, running at nearly 2,000% per annum.

Although Zimbabwe has preserved the illusion of a supreme court which makes independent decisions,and has indeed bravely ruled that Mugabe's land grabs are illegal, the Government rides roughshod over these rulings and does what it likes. In 2005, Mugabe instituted a programme of urban clearance, purportedly to drive out drug dealers and illegal markets, but which left thousands of urban poor homeless.

Demonstrations have been staged against the regime but all end in violence, the Government run police cracking down hard on demonstrators. The west has frequently 'expressed its displeasure' at Mugabe's illiberal regime but, as recently as yesterday, the ageing dictator announced that his western critics could 'go hang'.

It does put into perspective though the altruistic claims by western leaders that they have a humanitarian incentive to further 'regime change'. Now there is a regime crying out to be changed if humanitarian considerations were paramount. However its in the heart of Africa, not seen as an area of strategic interest - and of course it has no oil! So sorry Zimbabwe, you'll have to get rid of this obnoxious man all on your own!