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President receives standing ovation in SA
Herald Reporters
President Mugabe yesterday once again got a rousing
welcome in South Africa at the inauguration of President Thabo Mbeki in
Pretoria.
In a scene reminiscent to last year when the President
received a rapturous applause from mourners at the funeral of South African
anti-apartheid hero Walter Sisulu in Soweto, Cde Mugabe was greeted with a
standing ovation when he arrived for the inauguration ceremony at the Union
Buildings.
As soon as those gathered to witness the event saw him on the
big screens which were erected in and around the amphitheatre and before the
master of ceremony had announced his arrival, the crowd was on its feet to give
President Mugabe, who was accompanied by the First Lady, Cde Grace Mugabe, a
rousing round of applause.
Some chanted "Mugabe! Mugabe!" and members of
a South African traditional band blew animal horns as Cde Mugabe and the First
Lady took their seats.
Others who got a similar reception were former
South African President Nelson Mandela, who arrived accompanied by his wife Ms
Graca Machel, South African Vice-President Jacob Zuma and Mr Mbeki himself.
There was deafening applause when Mr Mandela arrived and the crowd broke
into a song praising him.
The standing ovation for President Mugabe was
despite negative reports in the South African media about the Presidentâs visit
there.
Some sections of the South African media claimed that President
Mugabe was staying at a guest house because no hotel was prepared to take him
in, reports which have since been dismissed as "hogwash" by the Zimbabwean
embassy in South Africa.
At Sisuluâs funeral last year, Cde Mugabe also
got a thunderous applause despite negative media reports about his presence
there.
The Citizen newspaper had written an editorial calling on South
Africans to ignore President Mugabe.
This was after Cde Mugabe had been
given another standing ovation at Fort Hare University (where he obtained his
first degree) by guests and students. The President was at the South African
university to witness local students, who had completed their studies,
graduate.
The Mulindwas Communication Group
"With Yoweri
Museveni, Uganda is in
anarchy"
Groupe de communication Mulindwas
"avec Yoweri Museveni, l'Ouganda est dans
l'anarchie"
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