Birds of a feather flock together

I see that Zimbabwean strongman Bob Mugabe is in talks with his counterpart in Equatorial Guinea Teodoro Obiang Nguema to get Equato-Guinean oil. Obiang is arguably Africa's most repressive dictator and Mugabe its most flamboyant.

The proposed deal would be a boon to both autocrats, who have faced severe international criticism for their hideous human rights' records. Mugabe is in the process of destroying a once prosperous country. Obiang is trying to ensure that his country never achieves prosperity in the first place. The tiny and closed Equatorial Guinea, called by some 'the North Korea of Africa,' is the continent's third largest oil producer.

Zimbabwe is suffering chronic fuel shortages, the result of a foreign exchange crisis.

The two despots likely became close after Mugabe arrested a number of people alleged to have formented a coup plot against Obiang.