UN must act on Zimbabwe: expelled rights expert

By Phakamisa Ndzamela and MacDonald Dzirutwe

JOHANNESBURG/HARARE (Reuters) - United Nations torture expert Manfred Nowak called on Thursday for action against Zimbabwe after his expulsion, and said the move underscored disarray in the unity government.

Zimbabwean officials denied him entry and forced him to board a South Africa-bound plane on Thursday after he was detained by security officials on arrival overnight.

He said he had been invited to Zimbabwe by Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai, whose power-sharing deal with President Robert Mugabe has been fraught with difficulties that have delayed efforts to rebuild the shattered economy.

"I think it sheds light on the present power structure of the unity government if the prime minister invites me for a personal meeting and his office is not in a position to clear my entrance to the country," said Nowak.

"That is a very alarming signal about the power structure of the present government."

Nowak said he would recommend that the U.N. Human Rights Council (UNHRC) take action against Zimbabwe, once one of Africa's most promising countries. But the UNHRC's special rapporteur on torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment, said immediate moves were unlikely.

Nowak said he was told by Tsvangirai's office that the expulsion was ordered by Mugabe but he could not verify this. He said only Mugabe's ZANU-PF was to blame.

"There are strong indications that this was just not done by the minister of foreign affairs without at least the knowledge of President Mugabe."