Mbeki denies coup claim

Johannesburg - The South African President, Mr Thabo Mbeki, yesterday denied a report that the Zimbabwean army had warned his…

Johannesburg - The South African President, Mr Thabo Mbeki, yesterday denied a report that the Zimbabwean army had warned his government it might stage a coup if a political and economic crisis in Zimbabwe led to riots.

"The South African government has no information about a coup taking place in Zimbabwe. Indeed we are opposed to coups anywhere and if we had such information we would have informed the Zimbabwean government," Mr Mbeki told parliament in Cape Town.

Mr Mbeki also defended his so-called "quiet diplomacy" approach to Zimbabwe, saying the land crisis there was a legacy of colonialism.