It is hard to believe that the horrors inflicted by Zimbabwe's ruler on his own people could get worse. But even in the past week they have. The burning to death of a six-year-old boy because his father is an op-I position politician, and the butchering of the young wife of the capital's new opposition mayor, are part of a growing wave of violence that has persuaded Morgan Tsvangirai, the opposition leader, to withdraw from the presidential run-off that was due on June 27th. He rightly felt that, by standing in the election, he was risking the lives of too many thousands of his supporters.rnYet Robert Mugabe's crimes are finally coming home to roost. He will claim to be re-elected president, by default. But he has lost one of the big things that have kept him in power to date: the grudging support of Africa. His brutality and fraudu-lence have become so plain for all to see that neighbours who once defended him are changing their tune. Just as he is poised to declare himself the winner, almost the entire continent-not to mention the rest of the world-has come to believe that he cannot be allowed to stay in office (see page 71).
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