Zimbabwe: Mugabe Emerges From Long Political Isolation

PRESIDENT Robert Mugabe's election last week as first deputy chair of the African Union (AU) may well be a significant diplomatic victory for his Zanu PF government after many years of isolation due to governance failures, signalling a gradual but continuous process of rehabilitating a leader who was once treated at home and abroad like a political leper.

Yet there are lingering questions about whether such symbolic gestures will fully rehabilitate Mugabe and restore his international image. During the early years of his rule in the 1980s, Mugabe hogged the domestic and international limelight as a symbol of reconciliation and hope.

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