'I am ashamed of my African leaders'

In a published letter to Portuguese President Anibal Cavaco Silva, (Mmegi, November 16, 2007), I pleaded and urged Silva and his government to justify their invitation of Robert Mugabe in contravention of European Union travel bans on Mugabe and his lieutenants because of their deplorable human rights violations.

I pointed out that since Portugal had chosen to invite Mugabe, Portugal should put Zimbabwe on the agenda and, thus, possibly offer an effective alternative to Gordon Brown's stand of isolating Mugabe.