Zimbabwe's envoy in Australia requests asylum as posting ends

Zimbabwe's ambassador to Australia has asked Canberra for asylum, lashing out at her country's "illegitimate" government and voicing fears for her safety if she returns home at the end of her posting, on Tuesday.

Jacqueline Zwambila said elections in July in Zimbabwe had been "stolen" by President Robert Mugabe's government and that she had no intention of using her business-class ticket to return home, The Canberra Times reported yesterday.

"I don't feel safe about returning to Zimbabwe at all," said Zwambila, who is aligned with Zimbabwe's opposition Movement for Democratic Change.

"Once the elections of 31 July were stolen by the current government, which is illegitimate, I knew that this was the end of the line," Zwambila said in a video posted on the website of The Canberra Times.

"End of the line for the people of Zimbabwe ... and for people like me, who were appointed by the ex-prime minister Morgan Tsvangirai."

Zwambila said she was seeking a protection visa from Australia so she could stay on in the country along with her family once her diplomatic status expired.

It was not immediately clear whether Canberra would approve her request.