At a press briefing after taking over the Sadc leadership Wednesday, Khama slated Burundi\u2019s President Pierre Nkurunziza whose country has been plunged into violence after he ran for a third-term despite strong domestic opposition.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt doesn\u2019t matter how you got there. At the end of the day, once you sit in the office and you assume all the functions and duties of that office, you are serving your term,\u201d he said. \u201cIn my opinion, he (Nkurunziza) has served two terms\u201d, Khama, whose country has term limits and who is serving his own second and last, said.<\/p>\n
Nkurunziza was sworn in at a hastily organised ceremony in Bujumbura on Thursday.<\/p>\n
His opponents said he had violated the deal that brought peace a decade ago and limits him to two terms.<\/p>\n
His supporters argue that his first term doesn\u2019t count because he was chosen by parliament rather than by popular vote.<\/p>\n
Mugabe, now in his seventh -term despite Zimbabwe\u2019s economic collapse, is seen as having failed to deal with the epidemic of \u201cthird-termism\u201d in Africa and shocked delegates during the last African Union summit in Johannesburg when he suggested there should be no term limits, arguing two terms could feel as short as two weeks…<\/p>\n