SW Radio Africa news - The Independent Voice of Zimbabwe
Scores of foreign delegates were Wednesday flocking into Zimbabwe for President Robert Mugabe’s inauguration Thursday, described by the MDC-T as “a robber’s party”. ZANU PF has declared the day a public holiday, as the party prepares a grand event to mark what many Zimbabweans have described as a stolen election. According to the Herald newspaper, the party has hired 30 buses to ferry people to the national sports stadium where the inauguration will take place. Speaking to the paper, ZANU PF official Ray Ndlukula said: “Yes, Thursday from what I gather, will be a public holiday, which will afford everybody an opportunity to come and celebrate this big occasion,” he said. South Africa-based Zim academic, Jethro Mpofu, said it was unfortunate that African leaders had chosen to bless Mugabe’s ballot theft with their presence.“It is saddening that the African community is demonstrating its willingness to endorse tyranny, electoral fraud and to endorse a grotesque regime that has shown its contempt for the will of the people.“But this is indicative of the dark future that awaits Africa as these leaders that have joined in the celebration of theft are bound to imitate this in their own countries.“This is really lending credibility to a crime, and that is unfortunate,” Mpofu added. The MDC-T has already said that it does not recognise Mugabe’s inauguration, which it described as a non-event. In a statement on its website, the party said: “Whilst some external and internal institutions have endorsed Robert Mugabe’s fraudulent victory, the people of Zimbabwe, whose vote was stolen, have certainly not endorsed him.“Mugabe’s inauguration on Thursday is obviously the usual ZANU PF charade of stage managed crowds who are frog marched and railroaded to attend the sham function at the National Sports Stadium. With ZANU PF frantically attempting to make tomorrow’s function a grand affair and relive Mugabe’s 1980 victory celebration, tomorrow’s inauguration is nothing but a non-event akin to the 2008 soloist run which is void of any legitimacy.” MDCT-T leader Morgan Tsvangirai has ruled out attending Mugabe’s inauguration. His spokesman, Luke Tamborinyoka, told the media that “expecting Tsvangirai to attend the inauguration is like expecting a victim of robbery to attend a party hosted by the robber“He can’t attend a robber’s party.” Some of the notable foreign delegates that are already in the country include former Tanzanian presidents Ali Hassan Mwinyi, Benjamin Mkapa and that country’s Foreign Affairs Minister Bernard Mwembe, as well as Swaziland Prime Minister Barnabas Sibusiso Dhlamini and South Sudanese Foreign Affairs Minister Barbana Benjamin. Former Mozambican President Joachim Chissano and Chinese special envoy Li Liguo arrived Tuesday, the Herald reported.