African Union Summit to Deal with Mugabe

Mugabe, 84, was sworn in for a sixth term yesterday, having been declared the election winner after opposition candidate Morgan Tsvangirai withdrew because of violence, and was expected to arrive in Egypt to attend the summit.

"A discussion will certainly take place at the level of heads of state and if there is a decision to take it will be taken at the level of the Union’s summit," AU commission spokesman El-Ghassim Wane said late yesterday.

Apparently seeking to temper potential African hostility, Mugabe used his swearing-in to call for dialogue and heaped praise on the much criticised efforts of South African President Thabo Mbeki to mediate the crisis.

"It is my hope that sooner rather than later, we shall as diverse political parties hold consultations towards such serious dialogue as will minimise our difference and enhance the area of unity and cooperation," Mugabe said.

So far there has been no consensus among the AU’s 53 member states, with the pan-African body issuing diplomatic statements and pushing for a power-sharing arrangement between Mugabe and Tsvangirai’s Movement for Democratic Change.

The Southern African Development Community, which has been leading mediation efforts to resolve the crisis, "are in consultation to put a text to the summit on how to end the Zimbabwe crisis, notably power-sharing possibilities," said a source close to the AU’s Commission.

African leaders in Sharm have warned that the crisis could destabilise southern Africa and that power cannot be handed entirely either to Mugabe or to Tsvangirai because of the country’s political polarisation.

"There is a need to bridge the gap," Ethiopian Prime Minister Meles Zenawi said on Sunday.

Kenyan Prime Minister Raila Odinga, among the veteran leader’s most vocal critics, has called on the bloc to send troops into Zimbabwe, and labelled Mugabe "a shame to Africa."

However, Kenya, which is emerging from its own deadly political crisis sparked by disputed December elections, has also offered to help the warring factions reach a settlement, Kenya’s Daily Nation reported on Monday.

"I have offered and we continue to offer to our brothers and sisters in Zimbabwe if they want to learn a few lessons from the experience of Kenya," Foreign Minister Moses Wetangula told the paper.

"We are always ready to assist them come together and talk for the sake of their country."

South African cleric and Nobel Peace Prize laureate Desmond Tutu said yesterday that "a very good argument can be made for having an international force to restore peace" in Zimbabwe under UN auspices.

A group of African lawmakers who observed Friday’s election run-off said the results should be scrapped and a new vote held.

US President George W. Bush on Saturday ordered additional sanctions to beef up existing measures that include a travel ban on Mugabe’s inner circle and a freeze on their bank accounts.

Human Rights Watch yesterday called for African leaders to impose sanctions against Mugabe and refuse to recognise his legitimacy, calling the election a "sham."