Khama steals the show in Harare

The Botswana leader had stayed away from the Southern African Development Community (SADC) summit held in South Africa last month in protest over the presence of Mugabe whose leadership following the controversial presidential run-off elections last June was not recognised by the Botswana Government.

At the conference centre, the crowd became ecstatic when Khama entered, applauding the Botswana leader for what many said was his principled stand on Zimbabwe.   Each time speakers made reference to SADC leaders present, the crowd shouted out Khama's name in a clear demonstration of how the Botswana leader had made an impact by his stance.  Even Mugabe himself could not avoid making reference to Khama in his speech.