200808091972 | Mugabe branded a 'political criminal'

Mugabe branded a 'political criminal'

Maputo - Mozambique's main opposition leader on Friday called Zimbabwe President Robert Mugabe "a political criminal" and condemned power-sharing talks underway to resolve the country's crisis.
"Mugabe used to be my hero, but now I consider him as a political criminal to the Zimbabweans who were denied the result of their choice in the recent elections," Alfonso Dhlakama, head of the Renamo party, told reporters.

The 84-year-old Zimbabwean president, viewed as a liberation hero following a guerrilla war that led to his country's independence in 1980, was re-elected in a June 27 run-off poll widely condemned as a sham.

Opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai boycotted the run-off despite finishing ahead of Mugabe in the March first round, citing rising violence against his supporters.

Power-sharing talks aimed at resolving the crisis, mediated by South African President Thabo Mbeki, began last month.

"The negotiations to solve the Zimbabwean political crisis were done in bad faith and it is a bad example to Africa and the whole world," Dhlakama said.

"It encourages African leaders who lose elections to resort to robbing elections and rely on the solutions of their friends to continue to cling to power."

Mozambique, which borders Zimbabwe, has been a traditional ally of Mugabe.