Politics

Zimbabwe: President Mnangagwa, ‘the crocodile’ escapes assassination

Emmerson Mnangagwa, the president of Zimbabwe, has escaped an apparent assassination attempt during an election campaign rally in the southern city of Bulawayo

Published

7 years ago

June 23, 2018

Africa News Watch

Emmerson Mnangagwa, the president of Zimbabwe, has escaped an apparent assassination attempt during an election campaign rally in the southern city of Bulawayo.

Local media reported that security personnel, several ministers and possibly the vice-president were hurt in the blast in the White City stadium on Saturday.

George Charamba, the president’s spokesman, told the Herald, a local newspaper, that Mnangagwa had not been injured in the attack, which occurred as the 75-year-old head of state had just finished addressing the crowd and was leaving the podium.

“Investigations are under way and more details will be given to the public. There have been multiple attempts on the president’s life over the past five years.”

Footage posted online showed Mnangagwa waving to the crowd, turning to step off the podium and walking into the open-sided VIP tent, where seconds later the explosion occurred. People ducked and screamed and smoke billowed. State television immediately cut its broadcast.

The incident came hours after a blast struck a large rally by supporters of Ethiopia’s prime minister, Abiy Ahmed, in the capital, Addis Ababa, wounding dozens of people. The coming election in Zimbabwe is the latest turning point in the most tumultuous few months in almost four decades of Zimbabwe’s political history.

In November, Robert Mugabe was forced out of power after 37 years, following a peaceful military takeover supported by the vast majority of the 17 million population.

The poll on 30 July pits Zanu-PF, the ruling party, against the Movement for Democratic Change (MDC), the longstanding opposition.

Zanu-PF is led by Mnangagwa, a former vice-president known as “the Crocodile” who took power when Mugabe was ousted. Polls indicate a potentially close race, but one that Zanu-PF should win. Though hard fought, the campaign so far has seen little of the violence associated with previous elections in Zimbabwe.

Past votes have been marked by systematic intimidation of the opposition and fraud, and the US and others have said a credible vote is key to lifting international sanctions.

The EU has deployed election observers in Zimbabwe for the first time in 16 years.

Few experts and analysts, or politicians, have raised the possibility that Mnangagwa might be targeted for assassination. Bulawayo, Zimbabwe’s second-largest city, is traditionally an opposition stronghold but there was no indication of who might be responsible for Saturday’s attack.

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Politics

Mozambique’s top court affirms governing party’s victory in recent election

Published

18 hours ago

December 26, 2024

Ifeoluwa Dada

The highest court in Mozambique affirmed Monday that the incumbent Frelimo party won the October election, sparking widespread demonstrations from opposition parties who claim the vote was manipulated.

Fears of fresh bloodshed have been raised in the nation already shaken by weeks of fatal protests after Mozambique’s top electoral court mostly confirmed the results of the country’s contentious October elections, reinforcing the Frelimo party’s decades-long hold on power.

The final decision on the election process rests with the Constitutional Council. Mozambique, a nation of over 35 million people in Southern Africa that Frelimo has ruled since 1975, is expected to see more protests in response to its judgement.

Mozambique operates a framework of a semi-presidential representative democratic republic in a multi-party system. The president of Mozambique serves as both the head of state and the head of government.

The government exercises executive power. The administration and the Assembly of the Republic have the authority to enact laws.

Politics

Alliance of Sahel States opposes ECOWAS disengagement schedule

Published

18 hours ago

December 26, 2024

Ifeoluwa Dada

The Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) withdrawal timeline has been rejected by the Alliance of Sahel States (AES), which is made up of Mali, Burkina Faso, and Niger.

The AES claims that the ECOWAS is attempting to destabilise their newly formed organisation.

During a meeting last week in Abuja, Nigeria, the regional organisation announced a six-month withdrawal period to give the three nations time to change their minds after their official departure date at the end of January 2025.

However, this decision is “nothing more than yet another attempt by the French and its auxiliaries to continue planning and carrying out destabilising actions against the AES,” according to the heads of state of the AES.

“This unilateral decision is not binding on the ESA countries,” the statement continues. Before the conference, they stated that their choice to leave the organisation was “irreversible.”

According to the president of the Ecowas Commission, this will be a “transition period” that ends on “July 29, 2025” to “keep the doors of Ecowas open.”

The three nations accused the bloc of neglecting to assist them in resolving their domestic security challenges and of imposing “inhumane and irresponsible” sanctions related to the coup.

The three nations that were involved in the coup have mostly rejected ECOWAS’ attempts to undo their withdrawal. They are creating their alliance and have begun thinking about how to issue travel passports independently of ECOWAS.

It is anticipated that they will finish giving their one-year notice of departure in January.

Visa-free travel to other ECOWAS members is a significant perk of membership, and it is unclear how this would alter after the three nations exit the group.