The Archbishop of York has told Premier that Robert Mugabe must leave power.
Dr John Sentamu has said the country has “become rubble” during his leadership.
The 92-year-old president has been in power since 1987.
John Sentamu was speaking as around five million people in Zimbabwe are in need of assistance as a result of the ongoing drought in southern Africa.
According to the United Nations it is one of the worst affected countries in the region, with Malawi, Zambia and South Africa also impacted.
The Archbishop said: “Step down while there is time, and allow someone else to take over Zimbabwe and rule it, so they’ll be no violent coup which again will drive people more and more into poverty.
“Please just step away for the sake of Zimbabwe.”
“Absolute power corrupts absolutely and I’m afraid he has been corrupted by his absolute power.
“Zimbabwe, that word means a rock, the country’s no longer a rock, it’s become rubble,” he said.
Robert Mugabe has also been accused of racism towards the white population in Zimbabwe.
Speaking in 2007 John Sentamu said: “Mugabe is the worst kind of racist dictator.
“Having targeted the whites for their apparent riches, Mugabe has enacted an awful Orwellian vision, with the once oppressed taking on the role of the oppressor and glorying in their totalitarian abilities.”
The Archbishop of York, Dr John Sentamu, currently does not wear a clerical collar and has said he will not wear it again while Mugabe is in power. –premierchristianradio.com
