Electing Mugabe AU chair 'will send a wrong message to Africa'

Cape Town – Electing Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe to the African Union (AU) leadership would send a wrong message to African citizens, civil society organisations have reportedly said.

This comes as Mugabe, who is the current chairperson of the Southern African Development Community (SADC) is set to become the next AU chair at the bloc’s summit scheduled for 30-31 January in Addis Ababa.

According to a Voice of America report, Yves Niyiragira, a spokesperson for Fehamu, a pan-African umbrella organisation for movements that focus on social justice, urged the AU to elect a president who represented the principles of good governance, the rule of law and democracy.

Read some reactions below from Twitter users.

Mugabe, who turns 91 in February, has ruled Zimbabwe for 35 years and has over the years been accused of election rigging and the arrest and intimidation of his opponents.

The 2015 AU Summit will be held under the theme "Year of Women's Empowerment and Development towards Africa's Agenda 2063".

The eNCA reported on Tuesday that the recent bloody violence in Nigeria and the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) were likely to the agenda.

Top reads | If Pres. Mugabe becomes AU chair, it would be a lifetime achievement award for bad governance. ISS Today http://t.co/dQ7m0mOuuv

— ISS (@issafrica) January 25, 2015

The possibility of the election of president Robert Mugabe as Chair of the AU is concerning.

— ICJ Kenya (@ICJKenya) January 26, 2015

AFRICA DECLINING? President Robert Mugabe to take over AU chairmanship https://t.co/6b5tpC5kK6

— Dikembe Disembe (@LeftistPolitics) January 27, 2015