Europe Conditionally Lifts Travel Ban on Zimbabwe's Mugabe

European Commission spokesperson Catherine Ray on 3rd February announced that Mugabe would be allowed to travel to the EU in his new capacity as AU chair. Mugabe will hold the post for a year. "The European Union is easing its travel ban on Zimbabwe's President, Robert Mugabe, while he serves as chairman of the African Union for the next year, the ban will be lifted when he is traveling under his African Union chairmanship capacity," Ms Ray said.
Zanu-PF spokesperson Simon Khaya Moyo told the official Chronicle newspaper that the temporary lifting of the ban, announced in Brussels on Tuesday, was “an effort to hoodwink the continent”. “The announcement is inconsequential,” Moyo was quoted as saying. (The Herald/Harare)