Harare/Johannesburg  - The United Nations' top humanitarian official said Wednesday she was told by Zimbabwe President Robert Mugabe that political prisoners still in detention would have to pass through the courts and, if convicted, would then go before clemency appeals, which are heard by him.

Catherine Bragg, UN Assistant Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs who is visiting Zimbabwe on a fact-finding mission, told a press conference that the remarks were made by Mugabe in answer to an appeal from UN Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon earlier Wednesday for the detainees to be released in terms of "national reconciliation."

She said she had not raised the issue, but that Mugabe had brought it up. "He said the cases needed to go through the courts, and that there would not be any interference, and there would be a clemency appeal at the end of the process."

The failure by Mugabe to release 16 detainees, most held and allegedly tortured since October last year, as well as Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai's deputy agriculture minister-designate Roy Bennett arrested nearly two weeks ago, is proving to be a major stumbling block for the new power sharing government.

Tsvangirai said earlier Wednesday that Mugabe had agreed to their release but that the attorney-general was "blocking" this.

Also at the press conference, the World Health Organisation's director for recovery and transition programmers, Daniel Acuna, said that the WHO had secured 42 per cent of an international appeal for funds to curb the country's cholera epidemic.

According to figures issued by the body Tuesday, the epidemic has seen over 83,000 cases with 3,900 deaths since it began in October.

If the funds were raised, "we may be able to bring it to a reasonable pattern of control within three weeks," he said.

"This is a big 'if.' If we don't make that push (to establish many more cholera treatment centres and make major improvements to water and sanitation systems), we may continue seeing this for many more weeks and have an absolutely avoidable toll of people who could be leading healthy lives."

Bragg said her office had made a consolidated international appeal for 500 million US dollars, and had 70 per cent of that pledged so far. Asked if the appeal had encountered "donor fatigue," she said, "Not at all. Quite the opposite. They have been very generous." dpa