BREAKING NEWS: Mugabe unanimously elected to lead Africa

President Mugabe was unanimously elected chairman of the African Union in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, this afternoon despite spirited opposition from Zimbabwe's traditional detractors.

In his acceptance speech, the President thanked the continent for the faith they vested in Zimbabwe and him in particular.

Mugabe, 90, is Africa's oldest leader succeed Mauritania's President Mohamed Ould Abdel Aziz.

But Mugabe has a different reputation outside the continent, and is subject to travel bans from the US and EU, in place since 2002 in protest at political violence and intimidation.

He boycotted an EU-Africa summit in Brussels after he was given a rare invitation - but his wife was still denied a visa.

AU Commission deputy chief Erastus Mwencha, has defended the right to choose any leader.

"Who am I to say to the people, you have elected the wrong leader?" Mwencha said.

"The people have chosen: the important thing is that you must follow the constitution of your country."

Although the post of AU chair is largely symbolic, civil rights groups are worried.

"This will send mixed signals and an extremely awkward message on international levels on how the AU stands on principles of democracy and good governance," said Jeggan Gey-Johnson, spokesman of the pan-African civil society coalition, The AU We Want.

It will not be the first time an autocratic leader has assumed the AU's top post.

The previous chair, Mauritania's Aziz, became the north African country's president in 2009 after leading two coups in four years.

In the corridors of AU headquarters, diplomats say the choice of Mugabe is an "unfortunate accident" resulting from the tradition of rotating the post among Africa's regions.

The AU has faced controversial choices before.

In 2007, the AU was deeply divided over the candidacy of Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir, while civil war raged in the western region of Darfur.

Ghana's John Kufor finally took the post on the grounds that his country was celebrating 50 years of independence.