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

5 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

Morocco joins PPCA to phase out coal

Published

1 day ago

December 9, 2023

Ifeoluwa Dada

Morocco has joined an international campaign to phase out coal, Powering Past Coal Alliance (PPCA), an effort to secure renewable energies in the next seven years.

With Morocco, PPCA has 60 national governments united by the desire to make a clean break with coal-fired power generation.

The United States, the United Arab Emirates, the Czech Republic, Cyprus, the Dominican Republic, Iceland, Kosovo, Malta, and Norway joined the global initiative earlier at the COP 28 climate summit, according to a statement from PPCA.

Without providing a timeline, the PPCA stated that Morocco “will work together with the PPCA to develop a plan for phasing (coal) out.”

Africa bears the least responsibility for climate change, yet it is already experiencing more severe effects than most other regions of the world.

The continent has the lowest carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions per capita of any region, contributing less than 3% of global energy-related CO2 emissions to date. Africa is home to nearly one-fifth of the world’s current population.

According to official figures, about 70% of Morocco’s electricity is generated from coal, with 20% coming from renewable sources thus far this year. By 2030, Morocco wants to increase the proportion of renewable energy in its energy mix to over 52%.

Politics

Seychelles declares emergency following explosion, flooding

Published

3 days ago

December 7, 2023

Ifeoluwa Dada

Officials in the Seychelles have confirmed that a blast at an explosives store wrecked buildings and caused massive damage to an industrial zone.

The explosion has prompted the president, Wavel Ramkalawan, to declare a state of emergency on Thursday.

The president called for a minute of silence on Thursday after telling reporters that the blast rocked the island and caused flooding due to heavy rains. Three people died as a result.

National television footage showed streets strewn with uprooted trees buried in deep mud and covered in debris.

“Following an explosion at the CCCL explosives store that has caused massive damage to the Providence Industrial area and the surrounding areas and major destruction caused by flooding due to heavy rains, the President has declared a state of emergency for today, December 7th,” President Wavel Ramkalawan’s office said in a statement.

“Everyone is being asked to stay at home. All schools will be closed. Only workers in the essential services and persons travelling will be allowed free movement.”

Tourists can still use the international airport and the ferries that travel between the islands, according to the government’s official social media.

Comprising 115 islands, the Seychelles is the least populous country in Africa, home to only 100,000 people.