It’s time to end the farce that’s Zimbabwe’s leader

A week from today, there will be a runoff election in the poverty-ridden central African nation of Zimbabwe and President Robert Mugabe, who is singularly responsible for emptying what was once Africa’s breadbasket, will hold on to the reins of power. He will have done so by using every criminal trick in the book. That’s been Mugabe’s modus operandi over the decades he has led Zimbabwe.

He must not be permitted to destroy what little there’s left of the country. The people have suffered long enough. Starvation, disease, violence and lawlessness on the part of the president’s supporters have resulted in the deaths of thousands, including children.

And while leaders around the world, including some in Africa, have voiced concern about what has been taking place in Zimbabwe, there has been an unwillingness on the part of the United Nations and the African Union to take the necessary step of forcing Mugabe out.

There is ample evidence to charge him with crimes against humanity and to prosecute him in the International Court of Justice. The fact that he is 84 years old should have no bearing on the way he is treated. He is a criminal.

One man’s venality

Every member of the United Nations has known for years that Zimbabwe was the victim of one man’s venality, yet he was permitted to remain in power and make a mockery of democracy.

But now, the United States, as the world’s most powerful nation, must do more than talk. It is clear that the June 27 runoff in the presidential election will be neither free nor fair. Mugabe’s opponent, Morgan Tsvangirai, has first-hand experience of what the ruling party is capable of doing. His supporters have been killed, villages have been destroyed and thousands have fled to neighboring South Africa.

Despite Mugabe’s campaign of intimidation, Tsvangirai received more votes in the March election, but not enough for a majority. Thus the runoff. However, his supporters contend that election night vote projections showed him winning handily, which prompted election officials to delay the release of the official results. There are accusations of vote tampering during the time the ballots were in the possession of the officials.

Nonetheless, the president’s failure to secure a majority in the election was a clear repudiation of his governance. The people of Zimbabwe want a change, but do not have the power to make it happen.

Even if the vote in the runoff shows Tsvangirai winning, he will ultimately fail because of fraud.

There is more at stake here than just a Third World country led by another corrupt leader. Mugabe’s ability to hold on to power because of the hands-off posture taken by the United Nations has emboldened other corrupt dictators.

The victims, sadly, are the people of those countries who are powerless to do anything about the lack of food, medicine, jobs, proper housing and education for the children.