US Presidential hopeful Hillary Clinton is too junior to criticize President Robert Mugabe, his spokesperson has said.
George Charamba, the 91 year old’s spokesman, said that Clinton cannot match Mugabe stature, that the Zimbabwean head relates to sitting heads of states and not aspiring candidates.
Charamba said this in response to Clinton’s condemnation of Mugabe’s recent remarks at the United Nations General Assembly condemning homosexuality.
Mugabe openly told off the west against trying to influence his country to accept homosexuality. “We are not gays”, he said.
Addressing what he called the ‘new’ human rights agenda being fronted by the west and referring specifically to the issue of homosexuality, Mugabe said, “We reject attempts to prescribe new rights contrary to our values, norms, traditions and beliefs. We are not gays.”
Clinton over the weekend outlined her vision for advancing gay rights and expressed her concern over Mugabe’s remarks.
Charamba said that the fact that Mugabe was speaking in his capacity as the African Union chair made him far superior than Clinton.
The president’s spokesman also took a swipe at the United Nations agencies which also condemned Mugabe’s remarks on gayism.
He said that the Zimbabwean government was disturbed that the agencies had turned themselves into lobby groups and not “mere employees of the world body”.
Charamba said that the agencies had no right to criticize a sitting head of state like Mugabe.
Homosexuality is illegal in Zimbabwe.
