Keep them in your England, Mugabe tells Britain

President Robert Mugabe has challenged the British government on why it is now asking the Zimbabwean government to help it send back thousands of Zimbabweans who fled the country to seek refuge in the UK.

Addressing a huge crowd of mourners at the burial of national hero Major General Elliah Bandama, Mugabe said that the British government had assisted the hundreds of thousands of Zimbabwe get refuge in the UK so as to create a bad name not only for him but the entire country.

"They took my passport to go to the UK and when they got to the UK they claimed that they were running away from Mugabe's persecutions."

"The British government gave them refugee status in order to turn back and say you fought for independence now look at what you are doing to your own people so as to create not only a bad name for me but for the whole country," said Mugabe.

Mugabe told the nation and the mourners that through out the whole great trek his government kept quite and remained in truth that no one was being persecuted while the British government decided to stick to lies in order to tarnish the country.

"While all this was happening we took a stance to remain in the truth that no one was being persecuted knowing that one day the truth will come out and set us free. Those that decided to stick to lies did so and now their lies have been exposed and are coming back to us asking for help," he said referring to the British government which he accused of now asking the Zimbabwean government to help them send back the Zimbabweans in the UK.

"You said we were persecuting them, if we were why are you now calling on us to help you send them back? Are you sending them back to be persecuted by Mugabe?" fumed the President in a wild applause from the mourners.

Tens if not hundreds of thousands of Zimbabweans starting emigrating from the country at the turn of the century when the country faced an economic downfall. The immigrants got to the UK claiming political asylum most of them providing stories that they were fleeing ZANU PF and Mugabe brutality in Zimbabwe stories which were easily accepted by the British government to grant the mostly economic immigrants political asylum. In recent months, the British Embassy in Zimbabwe has approached the Zimbabwean government to twin up on an arrangement to deport thousands of Zimbabweans in the UK who have failed to qualify for political asylum and some whose asylums are being revoked.

Mugabe mocked the British government asking if the situation has now changed in Zimbabwe now that the British want Zimbabwe to help with the repatriation of the Zimbabweans. The President's statement seems to be confirming some political analysts that the Zimbabwean government is not keen to see Zimbabweans spread all over the world come back home.

In a shock move, the Zimbabwean government is busy engaging with the South African government not to cancel special work permits to over 250 000 mostly highly skilled Zimbabwean workers working in South Africa. Political analysts have been condemning the moves by government of exporting the country's best brains to other countries while the Zimbabwean economy collapses.