Zimbabwe's former finance minister Simba Makoni, an independent candidate in presidential elections next month, predicted he would win the upcoming vote and criticised veteran leader Robert Mugabe in an interview on Thursday.

Speaking to the BBC via telephone from Zimbabwe, Makoni said that while he wanted "to be where President Mugabe is today... I want to do different things from what President Mugabe is doing."

"I don't believe that a good leader is about denigration, is about insult, and is about attack and smear... A good leader is about service.

"A commitment to service... in my book is not a commitment to cheat, is not a commitment to steal, and is not a commitment to rob."

Speaking about his chances in the 29 March election, Makoni declared: "I am going to win. Everybody knows that."

Asked by the BBC whether he would send Mugabe to the International Criminal Court to stand trial for crimes against humanity, he said that Zimbabwe "will be a full member of the international community and we will act in accordance with the normal standards of international justice."

Speaking to The Daily Telegraph in an interview published earlier on Thursday, Makoni claimed that he would win "resoundingly, by 70 percent plus."

"The people who are supporting me in (Zimbabwe's ruling party) Zanu-PF and in other quarters, agree with me that the country is ripe for change at the highest level, that the country needs to take a different direction, a positive direction."

AFP

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