STONE COLD HAVEN

It’s that time of year when the rich and the powerful meet up in their playground in Davos Switzerland. Some things remain the same – like you’re nobody if you don’t have an entourage and a motorcade of black 4 by 4s with blacked out windows gliding through the snow; but some things have changed. There’s those like John Thain, the former Chief Executive of Merrill Lynch, who was due to host one of the biggest events in Davos this year but lost his job recently (surprise surprise) – and other financial fat cats who have been responsible for the most spectacular decline of the financial infrastructure of our generation keeping away from the event in shame.

What caught my attention was an interview that the BBC had with Kenyan Prime Minister Raila Odinga this morning. Zimbabwe unsurprisingly, is one of the topics round the coffee table and around the water coolers, and Raila Odinga is seeking political support amongst world leaders in Davos for an exit strategy for Robert Mugabe. What’s surprising is that this suggestion (its been mooted in the past), has never been followed up seriously.

Raila’s position is that Mugabe should be offered a Golden handshake and immunity from prosecution for any crimes of humanity against the Zimbabwean people, and a safe passage to a safe haven where he can retire in peace and die slowly. I actually wouldn’t mind if Kenya offered him that safe passage and a nice cosy retirement pad with a couple of sentries guarding his gates, if it means that the Zimbabwean people are going to have a chance at rebuilding their lives, sooner rather than later.

The problem seems to be the old school cabal of African leaders who have a lot to lose and need to protect themselves, hence their blind and unflinching support for Mugabe. Many African leaders have entered office and retained power in ways not dissimilar to Mugabe’s unsavoury tactics, including Kenya’s own President, Emilio Mwai mwana wa Kibaki. So for all intents and purposes, moral authority amongst African leaders is a rare commodity.

The question is…has anyone else got the cojones to encourage Bob to take his golden handshake? His flamboyant wife, Lady Grace, the first shopper of Zimbabwe, might have a re-entry problem back into civilian life, but nothing like a good old dose of reality will help bitch slap her back into the land of the living.