A defiant Robert Mugabe has sailed unchallenged through the first test of his presidency by his peers.

Freshly sworn in after a single candidate election, he received a leader’s welcome when he strode into the African Union summit in Sharm el-Sheikh yesterday and emerged unfazed, his authority intact.

He dined at a lavish luncheon given by his Egyptian hosts, hugged heads of state and other diplomats in the corridors and stayed at the Peninsula Hotel, one of the most luxurious in this Red Sea town. “Mr Mugabe is staying there as a courtesy by the Egyptian Government,” a hotel spokesman said. Delegates from the opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) lodged at the Sheraton, while their leader, Morgan Tsvangirai, remained in Zimbabwe.

The African Union’s public response to Mr Mugabe’s seizure of power was seen as a key measure of the organisation’s commitment to democracy after Zimbabwe’s violent run-off elections.