The real fools are those who allow despots free reign

Any fool can be president. This pearl of wisdom came from none other than our dearest "dial-a-quote", Julius Malema.

He told the BBC: "I think I can be a president . presidents are just individuals who go around and cut ribbons ...

"Any fool can be president. We have a stupid president. There's the most stupid president in America."

Take a moment to absorb this. The staggering thought of Malema as South African president aside, in today's news cycle it begs the question: Is Zimbabwe's President Robert Mugabe a fool? Or would that title belong to those who kept him in power even when human rights organisations were raising the alarm?

The guiltiest parties here are those organisations with the political clout to effect change - not the man in the street who was (with reason) too scared to speak out. This takes us to the doorsteps of the Southern African Development Community and the African Union.

How many more times will we have to endure the SADC ignoring evidence of wrongdoing and declaring a dodgy election free and fair? According to its own website, the SADC's "overall goal" is to eradicate poverty in southern Africa. Yet it was silent as the unofficial unemployment rate in Zimbabwe rocketed to 95%.

The AU's vision, in its own words, is to create a "prosperous and peaceful Africa". Where has it been during the past 37 years while Mugabe was destroying our region's breadbasket? The SADC was quick to dispatch a delegation to Zimbabwe when the coup-not-a-coup happened, but with its usual ineffectiveness it made zero difference to a situation that could destabilise the entire region.

So, no, Mr Malema, you are wrong.

The real fools here are the SADC and the AU who are allowing despots to run our continent to the ground.