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South Africa's Jacob Zuma silences Lindiwe Zulu on Zimbabwe | South Africa's Jacob Zuma silences Lindiwe Zulu on Zimbabwe |
(about 1 hour later) | |
South African President Jacob Zuma has told his Zimbabwe envoy to stop making public comments, after she was criticised by Robert Mugabe. | South African President Jacob Zuma has told his Zimbabwe envoy to stop making public comments, after she was criticised by Robert Mugabe. |
Mr Zuma, the chief mediator in Zimbabwe's 2008-9 political crisis, said only he was authorised to comment ahead of the 31 July elections. | Mr Zuma, the chief mediator in Zimbabwe's 2008-9 political crisis, said only he was authorised to comment ahead of the 31 July elections. |
His envoy, Lindiwe Zulu, said last week that electoral preparations were "not looking good". | |
Zimbabwe's president then asked Mr Zuma to stop "this woman" from commenting. | Zimbabwe's president then asked Mr Zuma to stop "this woman" from commenting. |
President Mugabe is seeking to extend his 33-year rule and will face Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai at the ballot box. | |
The two long-time rivals have been sharing power since 2009, under a deal brokered by Mr Zuma. | The two long-time rivals have been sharing power since 2009, under a deal brokered by Mr Zuma. |
A statement from Mr Zuma's office said that some of the comments made about Zimbabwe had been unauthorised, unfortunate and inaccurate. | |
The statement did not refer to Ms Zulu by name. | |
She has previously said the elections should be postponed from 31 July, prompting Mr Mugabe to call her "stupid and idiotic". | |
Two days of early voting for members of Zimbabwe's security forces last week saw many logistical problems, such as a lack of ballot papers, raising fears that the election will not go smoothly. | |
After Ms Zulu's comments last week, Mr Mugabe said: | |
"That persistent negative voice from South Africa... could it please be stopped?" the state-owned Herald newspaper reports. | |
"I appeal to President Zuma to stop this woman of theirs from speaking on Zimbabwe. We were given one facilitator with one mouth and that is President Zuma himself; that's the voice, the only voice we want to hear." | |
The election is the first to be held since a new constitution was approved in a referendum in March. | |
However, some of Mr Tsvangirai's long-standing demands such as reform of the state media and security forces, seen as supporting Mr Mugabe, have not yet been implemented. | |
Last week, a South Africa-based satellite TV station aimed at Zimbabwe, 1st TV, was launched, prompting strong protests from Mr Mugabe's allies. |
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