It has emerged that South Africa’s President Thabo Mbeki told a delegation of African church leaders that he unshamendly supports President Mugabe and said the MDC and its leader Morgan Tsvangirai were a puppets of the West.

The Church leaders say they were shocked at the news.

The African religious leaders met Mbeki to discuss the Zimbabwean crisis in Pretoria on Friday.

African religious leaders said Mbeki had complained that the two countries sought to “subvert” the SADC’s mediation efforts.

On Sunday the two missions denied undermining the SADC and Mbeki’s mediation efforts, saying there was nothing to worry about.

The British High Commission’s First Secretary for Media and Public Affairs, R K Dixon, said: “We have always been supportive of the SADC and Thabo Mbeki’s mediation efforts. There is no issue here.”

The US embassy spokesperson Sharon Hudson said: “We have repeated many times that the SADC has and continues to play a meaningful role in the mediation efforts in Zimbabwe and we will support it.”

Dixon said Brown, who attempted to muscle a debate on Zimbabwe when Mbeki chaired the council – a move lamented by Mbeki at the meeting with religious leaders – plans to table the Zimbabwean crisis for discussion.

The two countries are in favour of tightening sanctions on Robert Mugabe’s Zimbabwe’s government and may consider an arms embargo on the flow of arms to Zimbabwe.

Mbeki had criticised the “overt” presence of these countries and the US mission around Movement for Democratic Change leader (Morgan) Tsvangirai, whom he criticised for reneging on agreements with him at the advice of the US and the UK.

According to the clergymen, Mbeki preferred all mediation efforts to support those of the SADC.

The president of the SA Council of Churches, Prof Tinyiko Maluleke, said Mbeki expressed concern that Brown insisted on having the Zimbabwe issue discussed at the council which was being chaired by him.

Mbeki said to the clergymen the SADC would send a team to Zimbabwe on Sunday to investigate reports of escalating post election violence.

MDC infuriated

After the pastors told some MDC leaders after the meeting that Mbeki said the MDC and its leader Morgan Tsvangirai were a puppets of the West. The MDC hit back, accusing Mbeki of hypocrisy because he held secret meetings four years ago with a faction of the party and the ruling Zanu-PF in a failed bid to create a government of national unity that would have excluded Tsvangirai.

MDC officials yesterday said since 2002 Mbeki had secretly met with Welshman Ncube then Secretary General of the United MDC and Zanu-PF’s Emmerson Mnangagwa, one of Mugabe’s closest allies.Welshman Ncube recently later lost his re election bid to current MDC Vice-President,Thokozani Khuphe.

The MDC said Mbeki’s plan was to form a government of national unity in which Mnangagwa would be president, with Mugabe’s blessings, and Ncube the prime minister.

The plan was foiled in June 2005 when Tsvangirai was made aware of the secret gatherings. The meetings continued after October 2006, when the MDC split into two factions.

On Thurday the MDC wrote to Mbeki informing him of its decision to cut all ties with him, accusing him of Aiding and abetting Mugabe; Being part of the Zanu-PF strategy committee overseeing the resistance against Western and international interference in the crisis; Dividing the opposition by holding secret meetings with breakaway MDC officials; Failing to act against Mugabe when he announced the election date without consultation and failing to reprimand Mugabe when he forced the Section 48 rule allowing police inside polling stations during the March 29 elections.

The MDC has written to Mbeki informing him that it would not participate in any negotiations to which he was party because he was badly compromised.

The MDC also said Mbeki had shown bias towards Zanu-PF ever since he started mediating.

Mbeki spokesperson Mukoni Ratshitanga demanded to know the source of this information. He said he would not comment on it unless he knew who it had come from.

“I can’t comment on this. It’s quite standard practice. How do I know that I’m responding to something that has been planted by somebody else other than the MDC. If you don’t tell me, I can’t respond. If you don’t give me a specific name, I can’t respond. I’m sorry,” said Ratshitanga.

Contact the writer of this story, Gerald Harper at : southafrica/@/zimbabwemetro.com