They said Tsvangirai had done a lot to save the southern African country from collapsing economically and politically. For them the relative peace that Zimbabwe is enjoying now is as a result of the hard work of Tsvangirai and his Movement for Democratic Change (MDC).

“Obama inherited a working system. Morgan came into a government that had no currency, inflation running above 50 percent per annum, more than 200 of his supporters died last year, almost half of his MPs facing trumped up charges but now peace has returned to Zimbabwe and the region. Morgan deserved it more than Obama,” Conrad Dube Mwanawashie, a freelance journalist told AfricaNews.

Mwanawashie said if Tsvangirai had won the prize it would have been one of the best platforms to unite the country. He said the leadership style of the man, who eventually won the elections but had to agree on power-sharing agreement with rival Mugabe, took Zimbabwe from the brink of civil war.

He said: “Imagine seating on the same table with someone who instructed soldiers to almost murder you, one of his (Tsvangirai) personal aides was killed in a bomb attack during the 2000 elections. Mugabe had taken Zimbabwe to the dogs but Tsvangirai has wrestled the dogs to rescue Zimbabwe.”

He said the award would have brought Zimbabwe back on the international map. “The mood would have been that of pomp and fun fare.”

Jealousy

“Mugabe would have gone lurid with jealous. It would have been a huge political statement and indictment for Mugabe. International recognition for Morgan while Mugabe is being isolated. It would have been a huge bounce in the step of Morgan,” the journalist analyzed asked how “President” Mugabe would have felt should his arch-political rival emerged as winner.

Reports reaching AfricaNews editorial desk indicate that most Africans were not so happy with the choice of Obama looking at the short period that he has been in office as compared to the long struggles of Tsvangirai.

“I think Obama did not deserve it. He is riding on the Obama mania. If he had pulled out of Guantanamo, pulled out the troops from Iraq we would have given him credit. As for Tsvangirai despite the bitter pain he underwent he signed the peace deal that ended the suffering of Zimbabwe. He (Tsvangirai) deserves the Nobel Peace Prize,” John Kiarie, another journalist based in Obama’s hometown of Kenya stated.

Meanwhile, Prime Minister Tsvangirai, who had been tipped as a favorite for the prize, told Reuters that Obama was a deserving candidate and an "extraordinary example".

The Norwegian Nobel Committee bestowed the respected award on Obama last Friday for offering the world hope and striving for nuclear disarmament. The announcement was met with both warm praise and sharp criticism, according to Reuters.

The bestowal of one of the world's top accolades on a president less than nine months in office, who has yet to score a major foreign policy success, was greeted with gasps of astonishment from journalists at the announcement in Oslo, the report said.

The Committee praised Obama for "his extraordinary efforts to strengthen international diplomacy and cooperation between peoples." However, critics -- some in parts of the Arab and Muslim world -- called the committee decision premature.