Protesters in Zimbabwe rights demo

MP Kate Hoey, chairman of the All Party Parliamentary Group on Zimbabwe, attended the demonstration to receive a petition to pass on to the Prime Minister and other European Union governments.

The petition urges the British Government and the EU to suspend government-to-government aid to all 14 Southern African Development Community countries until human rights have been improved. Instead the humanitarian aid should go direct to the people of Zimbabwe, the Vigil suggest.

Wearing a black T-shirt bearing the motto "Zimbabwe in our hands", Ms Hoey said: "I have been down to the vigil on a number of occasions. This is a special day. It is the fifth anniversary.

"We are here because Mugabe has not yet gone away. He has dissipated his country. There is more depravation than ever, and there are people who are literally starving."

Ms Hoey said the petition was about getting other South African countries to speak out against the Zimbabwean leader.

Armed with banners proclaiming "No Mugabe No" and chanting and singing, the demonstrators took up their posts. Vigil co-ordinator Dumi Tutani said: "We are trying to raise awareness of the problems back home, we need to keep the situation in the public eye.

"We won't rest until there are no more human rights abuses and until there are free and fair elections.

"There are people in Zimbabwe who don't have access to water or electricity. We have the highest child mortality rate in the world, something needs to be done immediately."

In 2002 Zimbabwe was suspended from the Commonwealth on charges of human rights abuses during the land redistribution and of election tampering. According to human rights organisations such as Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch, the government of Zimbabwe violates the rights to shelter, food, freedom of movement and residence, freedom of assembly and the protection of the law.