Former South African President Nelson Mandela has ended a public silence on the crisis in Zimbabwe. On Wednesday, Mandela criticized Zimbabwe President Robert Mugabe for what he called a “tragic failure of leadership.”

Nelson Mandela: “Nearer to home, we had seen the outbreak of violence against fellow Africans in our own country and the tragic failure of leadership in our
neighboring Zimbabwe.”

Mandela was speaking in London at a dinner ahead of his ninetieth birthday next month. Mugabe has come under widespread criticism for refusing to cancel a runoff election scheduled for Friday. Opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai won the first round of elections in March but withdrew from the runoff late last week. He has sought refuge in the Dutch embassy in Harare out of what he says is concern for his life. On Wednesday, Tsvangirai said Mugabe has declared a war.

Morgan Tsvangirai: “Well, where does this leave the country? At a dead end. Let me say that it’s not an election. If he goes into a process of an election [inaudible], it’s not an election. That’s what we keep on saying, that this is not an election. It is war. Mugabe has declared war, and we don’t want to be part of it.”