Zimbabwe President Robert G. Mugabe's misrule of his country is now killing his own people.

He has taken Zimbabwe from independence in 1980 with a healthy mixed economy that provided its population with a relatively high standard of living, to a truly desperate state.

Inflation remains inestimable. A fourth to a third of the people need food relief. Doctors, nurses and other medical technicians are not being paid and are on strike. The government's response was to order police to use force in dealing with the strikers.

The latest outrage is a cholera epidemic, which has killed 600, with more than 12,000 cases reported since August. One reason is that, in Harare, the capital and largest city, there is no clean public water because the government has not bought treatment chemicals.

Zimbabwe held elections this year, which turned into a tragicomedy. Mr. Mugabe probably lost, but in the end was not forced to leave office. He appeared to agree to a power-sharing deal with the winner, which he then sabotaged by not sharing power.

The southern African countries have been ineffectual and spineless with the 84-year-old tyrant. South Africa, as the most powerful country in the region, has been the most conspicuous failure in dealing with the problem. Now it's feeling the heat as Zimbabweans cross the border to seek medical care there.

Kenyan Prime Minister Raila Odinga, in response to the cholera epidemic, has called for Mr. Mugabe to be forced out of power and has proposed that African peacekeepers be introduced to Zimbabwe. Since Mr. Mugabe's army benefits from his rule, it would probably have to be action from outside. It is hard to imagine that occurring, given the general toothlessness of Zimbabwe's neighbors.

The United States continues to deplore the situation but is in no position to act, given its commitments elsewhere and its habitual wordy indifference to African crises such as Rwanda, Darfur and the Democratic Republic of Congo.

At the moment, the world is merely watching to learn how much the Zimbabweans can take.