Mugabe - Asleep At the Wheel

The situation in Zimbabwe is bad enough without another African leader praising Mugabe for his stand in retaining power in the country, despite losing the 2008 election. And I am a little bit surprised that there doesn't seem to be the support from other African leaders for the MDC to be allowed to assume the mantle of power as handed to them by the popular mandate.

Why bother to have elections if the results are to be ignored?

"Ivory Coast strongman Laurent Gbagbo warned West African leader Sunday that any attempt to oust him by force could ruin the regional economy and trigger a bloody war.

On Tuesday, three West African presidents will visit Abijan int a bid to convince the defiant 65-year-old leader to step down, a last-ditch plea that comes backed by a threat of regional military intervention.

Gbagbo said he took the threat 'seriously' but would never back down, and his lieutenants warned that any intervention could put the millions of West African migrants living in Ivory Coast in danger."

Gbagbo has a perfect template to follow - that of the 'revered' Zimbabwean leader, Robert Gabriel Mugabe. The Southern African regional is unable and reluctant to take any action against Mugabe who has effectively conducted a coup by remaining in office and having the entire democracy of the country turned on its head, leaving the party that won the election out in the cold.

"Several international leaders, including UN Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon, have warned Gbagbo's stubbornness could plunge Ivory Coast into civil war.

But Gbagbo's supporters turned the warning around, claiming instead that the threat of military action by the West African bloc ECOWAS poses a greater risk of mass civilian casualties and a regional conflagration.

Gbagbo said the West African move was the result of a Western plot directed by France and the United States, whose ambassadors he accuses of undermining Ivorian electoral procedures in order to propel Quttara into power.

"When you go through what I've been through, you tell yourself, 'Perhaps Mugabe wasn't completely wring after all,'" he said, referring to Zimbabwe's President Robert Mugabe, who clung to power after losing the election."

Using Mugabe's actions as a benchmark is entirely wrong. He has refused dialogue, embarked upon a bloody campaign to remain in office now and after the next election - and now his ego will be stoked by Gbagbo's comments and his intentions.

But why do African leaders insist on showing how spineless they are by quietly acquiescing Mugabe's moves to remain in power? The threat of civil war in Africa has now taken root in the South and West of the continent, and cannot be more than a single rifle shot away.

Mugabe's apparent conception of power being infectious in another part of Africa aside, it is apparent that the old man of Zimbabwe is tired and in need of a rest. He insists on making long, rambling speeches which make the most absurd allegations against the West and Morgan Tsvangirai, and yet in meetings, he has developed a habit of nodding off.

This backs my theory that he is nothing more than a figurehead for the military leaders in Zimbabwe, who are busy priming their forces to take power in any new election by force.

This is further backed up by the public utterances of Mugabe's senior henchmen who have stated that nothing less than a Mugabe win will be acceptable to ZANU PF...

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"President Robert Mugabe is tired and must go now, says firebrand Finance Minister, Tendai Biti.

Biti, a lawyer, said he had a two hour meeting with President Mugabe and he had slept during most of it.

"I met with President Mugabe two weeks ago and he slept most of the time during the two and a half hour meeting," Biti told a rally in Kuwudzana."

More information that backs up the idea that Mugabe is little more than a figurehead for the Joint Operations Command (JOC) consisting of the military chiefs and intelligence network leaders.

Mugabe will be 87 in less than two months - yet seems to be propped up in the zeal for ZANU PF to maintain control over anything remotely governmental or security related in the country.

Robb WJ Ellis

The Bearded Man