An SA Airlink plane, carrying Zimbabwean Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai on Tuesday, was forced to turn back to Johannesburg after experiencing a technical fault on its way to Harare.

Officials in the prime minister's office said the plane had just entered Zimbabwean air space when the fault was detected.

Tsvangirai touched down safely in Johannesburg shortly after 8am and caught a later plane.

The prime minister spent the last five days in Morocco and Libya.

On Monday, he held talks with current AU Chairman President Moamar Kadhafi, who, up until now, has been a close ally of President Robert Mugabe.

Tsvangirai was due to attend a cabinet meeting on Tuesday with Mugabe.