Khama joins Zim fray on the side of the downtrodde

President Ian Khama never shies away from telling the embattled Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe the painful truth. Yesterday, a day after he had said in a Monday morning Gabz FM interview that President Mugabe must resign, President Ian Khama proved the seriousness of the assertion when he wrote a letter to Mugabe urging him to resign from his post.

The 93-year-old Mugabe who was ordered to resign by his party ZANU PF on Sunday finally bowed out yesterday after leaving everyone guessing after skipping the deadline he was set on Monday.Since leadership crisis started in Zimbabwe President Khama is the only Southern African Development Community (SADC) leader who has come out in the open to call for Mugabe’s resignation.Khama wrote, “Mr. President, I am writing to appeal to you to be sensitive to the wishes of the people of Zimbabwe and to do the honourable thing by voluntarily relinquishing power as the President of Zimbabwe. “My appeal is necessitated by an unprecedented situation currently unfolding in Zimbabwe whereby your own party, ZANU-PF, is calling for your immediate resignation and is in the process of instituting impeachment.” According to President Khama the people of Zimbabwe have for a long time been subjected to untold suffering as a result of poor governance under Mugabe’s leadership.

“It is therefore my conviction that by vacating the Presidency, this will usher in a new political dispensation that will pave the way for the much needed socio-economic recovery in Zimbabwe. “I therefore reiterate my appeal to you to honourably step aside, if you really care for them, as you profess, and if you cannot find it in you to do so, then as a Christian do so in the spirit of our Lord in order to usher in a new period going forward of unity, peace and prosperity for Zimbabweans and allow your country to be the economic powerhouse it is capable of being,” he said. It is not clear if Khama’s letter reached Mugabe yesterday, but it would appear that the Zimbabwean statesman granted Khama his wish.