Respected former British Defence and Foreign Secretary, Sir Malcolm Rifkind, the MP for Kensington and Chelsea, has said Morgan Tsvangirai deserved the Nobel Peace Prize more than Barack Obama.

In a Times Comment the Tory grandee joined a chorus of critics who are not convinced by the Nobel argument that the purpose of the award was to encourage and support the direction taken by Obama – to bring the Christian and Muslim worlds together, and nuclear disarmament.

He said Tsvangirai needed international support just as much in his peaceful fight against dictatorship, but more than that he had ten years of struggle behind him, not Obama's mere nine months. Read it here. And comment here .

Dear Sir,

(Commenting on Tsvangirai/Obama ) Probably those who chose Obama ahead of Tsvangirai considered the sphere of influence of the peace initiatives.Obama had an impact internationally, while Tsvangirai's was confined to Zimbabwe.

I fully agree with all that Tsvangirai would also have been a worthy winner, but there had to be only one. As acknowledged by Tsvangirai that the mere mention of his name was enough encouragement let us accept the decision and integrity of the awarding body.

If Obama was white I am sure the scream to heavens above would have been RACISM!!!!  But because Obama is of mixed race and widely accepted as black trhough his Kenyan roots all we can hear are mumbles and low key grumbles.

Batshele Nduna