Mugabe 'has had enough'

2004-05-15 13:30

Nairobi - Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe plans to retire when his terms ends in 2008 and has begun searching for a successor, a Kenyan newspaper reported on Saturday.

"I want to retire from politics. I have had enough. I am also a writer and would like to concentrate on writing after this term in office is over," Mugabe, 80, was quoted as saying by Kenya's East African Standard newspaper. "I have not even completed this term, I have four more years and I am not so young."

Zimbabwe has been wracked by political violence and economic turmoil in recent years as Mugabe's government has seized thousands of white-owned farms for redistribution to blacks.

Seeking to crack down on dissent, the government has arrested opposition leaders, trade unionists and independent journalists

However, Mugabe said problems in finding a successor have led to a power struggle in the top leadership of his ruling Zanu-PF party.

"They are fighting and some are even going to consult with witchdoctors," said Mugabe who has ruled the southern African nation since independence in 1980.

- AP