'Mugabe a Chinese stooge,' says Moyo

Former Parastatals minister Gorden Moyo has described President Robert Mugabe as a tool of the Chinese government to fight Western powers.

Moyo told a forum to debate the role of the International Criminal Court (ICC) following last week's attempts to arrest Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir in South Africa that China was behind Mugabe's calls for Africa to pull out of the court based at The Hague.

Mugabe, who chairs the African Union (AU), was at the forefront defending South Africa's failure to arrest al-Bashir during the continental body's summit.

Al Bashir, wanted by the ICC for crimes against humanity linked to the genocide in the Darfur region, sneaked out of South Africa as the courts sanctioned his arrest.

Moyo, the chairperson of MDC Renewal Team's international relations committee, said China was arm-twisting African leaders to protect al-Bashir.

"China is to blame and apart from the fact that China is a member of the P5 (five permanent members of the UN Security Council), it participated in the decision to prosecute al-Bashir, but because they have huge investments in Sudan, China cannot allow a change of government in Sudan, which they do not control," the former minister told the forum on Tuesday.

"They want al-Bashir to protect their economic interests and that is why they have bribed most of these African leaders with Chinese money, save for Botswana and Malawi, who I respect."

Moyo said in Zimbabwe, China invested in Gushungo Estates, the First Family's factories and constructed Mugabe's private residence.