200807011843 | Kenyan Prime Minister seeks suspension of Robert Mugabe from AU

Kenyan Prime Minister seeks suspension of Robert Mugabe from AU

Nairobi - Kenyan Prime Minister Raila Odinga called for the suspension of Zimbabwe's President Robert Mugabe from the African Union until he allows a "free and fair" election. "Mugabe should be suspended until he allows the AU to facilitate free and fair elections," Odinga told a press conference in Nairobi after talks with US Senator for Florida Bill Nelson.

"AU will be setting a dangerous precedent if Mugabe is allowed to participate in its meetings," Odinga said in a fresh salvo against Africa's oldest leader.

Mugabe, 84, who has led Zimbabwe since independence from Britain in 1980, was sworn in on Sunday for a sixth term after he was declared winner of a run-off election boycotted by opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai.

African Union observers condemned the election as undemocratic as Mugabe arrived at an AU summit in Egypt.

Critics have held him responsible for the worsening security and economic meltdown in his southern African nation, but Mugabe has defiantly blamed it on the West, notably Britain, Australia and United States, for imposing sanctions.

Odinga, one of Africa's most vocal critics of the Zimbabwean leader, spoke in Nairobi, while Kenya was being represented by President Mwai Kibaki at the summit in Sharm el-Sheikh.

Kibaki has not yet made any public statement over Zimbabwe, but Foreign Minister Moses Wetangula said last week that while Nairobi favoured dialogue to end the crisis, it would still accept any decision adopted by the AU summit.

Kenyan Vice President Kalonzo Musyoka has called for a government of national unity in Zimbabwe, warning that any attempts to impose sanctions would worsen living conditions in that nation.

Over the weekend, Odinga urged the AU to send troops to Zimbabwe, saying Mugabe's behaviour was an embarrassment to the continent.