The African Union (AU) summit currently underway in Egypt has brought further shame upon the continent by recognizing Robert Mugabe as Zimbabwe's head of state, instead of condemning the dictator's stolen victory and calling for fresh elections under conditions that will guarantee a free and fair poll.
Robert Mugabe is not a legitimate leader of Zimbabwe. His presence at the summit should not have been welcomed in the first place. By accepting him as the Zimbabwean head of state, African leaders are guilty of ignoring the humanitarian tragedy in Zimbabwe. The idea of a government of national unity is ill-conceived because it will serve Mugabe's interest rather than that of the majority of Zimbabwe's people, who made their intentions clear during the March 29 elections.
The failure of AU leaders to distance themselves from Mugabe's illegitimate regime is a disgrace to the contributions that many member states have made to bringing about democracy in Africa. It is ironic that many one-time proponents of democratic rule are now supporting this historic assault on democracy. The shilly-shallying, spineless leadership on display in Sharm el-Sheikh is setting a dangerous precedent whereby every dictator can cling to power through illegal means and still be recognised as a president of a country.
The strong evidence of political violence in Zimbabwe qualifies Friday's one-man run-off election as daylight robbery; one would have thought that Africa's leaders would use this opportunity to reaffirm their commitment to democracy by denouncing Mugabe. The support given to Mugabe by the AU should, however, be unsurprising given that so many of the continent's heads of state also have impeccable records in defying the basic principles of democratic governance.
It is also telling indeed that one of the few voices of reason among Africa's leaders is that of Kenyan Prime Minister, Raila Odinga, who has seen first hand the consequences of endorsing a stolen ballot. His call for the isolation of Mugabe is both brave and principled.
For too long Africa's leaders have allowed loyalty to blind them to their colleagues' gross violations of democracy. It is now time to set a new precedent; one which maintains that the infringement of democratic norms has no place on the African continent. Mugabe needs to be suspended from the AU pending the outcome of a new election.
This statement was issued by Tony Leon, Democratic Alliance spokesperson on Foreign Affairs, July 1 2008
