ens.
The latest addition to the motorcade, four state-of-the-art 1200cc bikes have a taller windshield, adjustable seat, extra wide footpegs and huge engine guards.
The new bikes were guiding Mugabe’s motorcade on Tuesday as he appeared for the official opening of the second session of Parliament that was snubbed by opposition leaders.
Government spokesman George Charamba was not available for comment. But an official who spoke to The Zimbabwean on general lines of the President’s office said: “The President’s security arrangements are not for public consumption.”
The Zimbabwean heard that government placed the order and possibly paid for the bikes early this year. According to experts, such an order would not have been accepted without guarantees or cash payments.
A spokesman of the main wing of the opposition Movement for Democratic Change said the purchase of the bikes at a time the country was stalked by mass starvation showed Mugabe’s frenetic appetite for opulence and luxury.
“He is creating an island of pomp and fanfare in a sea of poverty and deprivation,” MDC spokesman Nelson Chamisa said. – Gift Phiri
27.7.2006
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US$66,400 for new wailers
HARARE - President Robert Mugabe, whose government is technically bankrupt, has fortified his personal security by splashing out US$66,400 on four new motorbikes for his high-speed and heavily armed motorcade - known as "Bob and the Wailers" because of the accompanying police outriders' sir