Zimbabwe

Cholera deaths increase as Zimbabwe blames Britain

Article published on the 2008-12-12 Latest update 2008-12-12 18:52 TU

A sick woman is taken in a wheelbarrow to a clinic in Harare on Friday
(Photo: Reuters)

The South African bishop Jo Seoka added his voice to recent criticism of Zimbabwe's President Robert Mugabe on Friday. Speaking to RFI, he said "Mugabe is really Hitler of the 21st century".

Seoka said calls for the Zimbabwean president to step down were not going to work, "calling for him to step down is not going to happen, calling him to go - he's not going to go, he thinks he owns that country."

The Archbishop said widespread criticism had not had any effect, "Nothing can be stronger than what has been done by other leaders - Sadc [the Southern African Development Community ] and the whole leadership of the continent and international community. The Archbishop of York [John Sentamu] has done everything to promote awareness and a consciousness of the evils of the leadership in Zimbabwe".

His comments come as the death-toll from the current cholera epidemic is at 792 according to the World Health Organisation (WHO) with over 16,000 cases reported. Doctors Without Borders (MSF) said Friday that it had treated more than 6,000 in the Zimbabwean capital Harare and that it expected to be treating people "for some time to come".

Saying that cholera had devastated the people of Zimbabwe, Seoka continued, "Everybody's aware that people are dying there and to deny that cholera is devastating the lives of the people of that country is just being naive".

Thursday, Mugabe had said "there is no cholera", claiming that Zimbabwean doctors and the WHO had "now arrested cholera". His comments drew widespread criticism and Friday Mugabe's spokesman George Charamba said that the leader had spoken with "sarcasm".

Seoka described the sarcasm explanation as "disgusting, that one can make such a joke or a sarcastic statement".

On Friday the Zimbabwean government blamed the government of the UK for the current cholera outbreak. "Cholera is a calculated, racist attack on Zimbabwe by the unrepentant former colonial power, which has enlisted support from its American and Western allies so that they can invade the country" the Information Minister Sikhanyiso Ndlovu said at a press conference.

Seoka described the attribution of blame to the UK and US as "nothing new".

On the prospect of an improvement in the health situation in Zimbabwe, Seoka said he was looking to prayer and that "God has a way of dealing with such dictators."

"Therefore my prayer is that these people should also have a joyful and blessed Christmas," he added, "with Mugabe on the throne, just like Herod, it's not very likely".