A few clear-sighted African leaders are speaking out in favour of robust intervention in Zimbabwe. Raila Odinga, Kenya’s prime minister, Desmond Tutu, the Nobel laureate, and Seretse Ian Khama, president of Botswana, are foremost among them. This is not yet cause for hope.

Even as tens of thousands of Zimbabweans fall victim to cholera, the sad truth is that those governments in southern Africa capable of acting decisively against Robert Mugabe are unwilling to do so. Worse, some appear to be swinging back behind his vile regime. No amount of hand-wringing by Britain and the US is going to change this. Rather, it is time to toughen up the rules.