Mugabe to hire spin doctors

An international political lobbying company had been hired for about US $4.5 million by Zimbabwe President Robert Mugabe to improve his image in America and Britain, the ‘Edmonton Journal’ reported on Sunday. The firm had been asked to counter the “misunderstandings” and “recriminations” which Mugabe blames for his portrayal as a despot and for his country’s growing international isolation, the report said, adding that the move was Mugabe’s latest attempt to sideline his critics abroad, including the British Foreign Office, which he has accused of racially motivated attacks on him. The report said the fee would be paid in five annual instalments to Cohen and Woods International (CWI). Herman Cohen, a former American ambassador to Africa, and James Woods, a former adviser to George Bush Senior, have represented a string of controversial African politicians, including the leaders of Angola and Burkina Faso, according to the report.