Mugabe issues 'tit for tat' threat

Zimbabwe’s president has threatened to expel foreign-owned companies over what he says is the West’s interference in the politics of the country he has led since 1980.

In a speech before supporters gathered for the burial of a top military chief in Harare, President Robert Mugabe said he wanted no “ideas from London or Washington”.

He warned the countries that although his government has not “done anything to your companies, time will come when we will say tit for tat”. The West has pushed for democratic reform in Zimbabwe.

Mr Mugabe, who was sworn in on Thursday for another five-year term at the age of 89, said “there will come a time when we lose our patience”.

Mr Mugabe has vowed to press ahead with black ownership of foreign-owned companies.