Zimbabweans Generally Approving of Death of Osama Bin Laden
Most Zimbabweans applauded the US raid that ended the life of Osama Bin Laden, but some said he should have been put on trial
Satisfaction at the death of Osama Bin Laden was not universal in Zimbabwe as in other African countries where some said he should have been brought to justice and a few saw him as a hero Zimbabweans generally shared American satisfaction at the news of the death of Osama Bin Laden in the course of a US commando raid on his Pakistani compound. Bulawayo-based political analyst Themba Dlodlo of the National University of Science and Technology told VOA Studio 7 reporter Ntungamili Nkomo that the news was received positively because Zimbabweans disapprove of terrorism and violence. Zimbabwe Human Rights Association Director Okay Machisa told reporter Jonga Kandemiiri that he welcomed the news of Bin Laden's death because it sends a signal to those in Zimbabwe who do not respect human rights that justice will prevail. However, Machisa warned that the extremist terror danger was not ended. Not all Zimbabweans were gladdened by the killing of Osama Bin Laden. One member of the country's small Pakistani community, Saad Khan, disapproved of it. Patricia Sithole of Harare commented only that she thought the Al Qaida leader should have been captured and brought to justice. Reactions in Africa to the news that U.S forces had killed Osama bin Laden were mixed, as VOA correspondent Scott Stearns reported from Dakar, Senegal. But much of the world shared the emotions of Americans - shock and elation - upon the announcement late Sunday by US President Barack Obama that U.S forces had attacked the compound in the military and resort town of Abbottabad, Pakistan, US security sources told reporters that Osama bin Laden’s body was buried at sea in the Indian Ocean under Muslim rites so his burial spot would not become a shrine. Americans across the country rejoiced - but nowhere more than in New York and Washington where thousands died on September 11, 2001, when Al Qaida operatives flew air liners into the World Trade Center towers and the Pentagon, . VOA reporter Juliann McKellog reported on those reactions.