Pressure is mounting on South African President Thabo Mbeki to deliver results in his mediation of the crisis in Zimbabwe, most lately from Ghanaian President John Kufuor, chairman of the African Union, who said on Tuesday in Pretoria, where he was holding talks with Mr. Mbeki, that "everyone concerned must be worried" about Zimbabwe.
In March Mr. Kufuor stated that the apparent police beating of Zimbabwean opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai was “embarrassing” for the continent.
He reportedly met with Mr. Mbeki to discuss Zimbabwe, among other matters.
Meanwhile, the former Anglican archbishop of Cape Town, Desmond Tutu, also criticized African leaders for their relative silence on Zimbabwe, urging South Africa today to “turn off the tap” of electrical power to its neighbor to the north.
Southern African correspondent Andrew Meldrum of Britain's Guardian newspaper told reporter Ndimyake Mwakalyelye that Mr. Kufuor’s comments are significant.