Free-Zim youths embarass Zuma during her London lecture

By Lance Guma

26 October 2006

South Africa’s foreign affairs minister Dr Nkosazana Dlamini Zuma had a night to forget in central London on Wednesday. Pressure group Free-Zim Youth UK made sure they expressed their displeasure with her government’s handling of the Zimbabwean crisis. Dr Zuma was addressing the London School of Economics on possible reforms for the United Nations following her country’s election to a non-permanent seat on the Security Council. The youths repeatedly disrupted her lecture with chants of “ANC betrays black Zimbabwe.”

Five minutes into Dr Zuma’s lecture Alois Mbawara who leads Free-Zim stood up to challenge her asking, “Why are you doing nothing to help Zimbabwe? The ANC called for solidarity against apartheid. But the ANC government is showing no solidarity with the people of Zimbabwe.” When asked by Howard Davies the chair of the meeting to keep quiet, Mr Mbawara replied, “We can’t keep quiet while Zimbabwe is suffering.” Stewards were called in to usher him outside.

Gay rights activist Peter Tatchell then walked onto the stage with a placard reading “Mbeki’s shame. ANC betrays black Zimbabwe.” Security officials wrestled Tatchell out of the venue only for another activist Wellington Chibanguza to stand up from the balcony shouting “Why do you (Dr Zuma) and your government persist with quiet diplomacy when it has failed to deliver?’ Chibanguza was also ejected from the meeting. Four women activists from the Free-Zim youth then started making catcalls during Dr Zuma’s speech resulting in their removal from the venue.

Zuma looked rattled and courted even more controversy by saying Zimbabweans were sitting in London doing nothing instead of taking matters into their own hands. She said ‘Zimbabweans in Britain have no right to speak out about the situation Zimbabwe.’ This did not go down well with the activists who pointed out that Dr Zuma herself had spent much of the apartheid era in exile in the United Kingdom. Tatchell said in a statement “Given the level of the audience disquiet, the organisers curtailed the promised question and answer session and Dr Zuma was humiliatingly smuggled out of a side exit to a waiting unmarked car. She scuttled away like a rat from a sinking ship.’- SW Radio Africa