Ambassador Emagrabi is being accused of leading Libyan nationals in Harare who staged a protest against Gaddafi at the embassy on Wednesday. The demonstrators pulled down the official Libyan flag and burned it, before raising the flag belonging to the rebels, or the National Transition Council (NTC) as it’s being called.
"From today, August 24, we follow the Libyan majority, the Libyan people, through our National Transitional Authority," Elmagrahi told reporters outside the embassy. "We are here representing the Libyan people and not Gaddafi. I am not Gaddafi's ambassador. I represent the Libyan people."
Officials from Zimbabwe’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said they no longer recognise Elmagrahi and that the hoisting of the NTC’s red, black and green flag at the embassy was illegal. Foreign Affairs Permanent Secretary Joey Bimha confirmed that they have recommended to the Immigration Department that the ambassador’s legal status be reviewed.
On Friday several reports quoted Foreign Minister Simbarashe Mumbengegwi as having given the ambassador five days to leave the country. SW Radio Africa sought an interview with Ambassador Elmagrahi to confirm this and was told he was out of the office and would only be able to speak to us on Monday.
The decision by ZANU PF comes as no surprise, given the close ties between Gaddafi and Mugabe.
The decision by ZANU PF to expel the Libyan ambassador and side with the toppled Gaddafi further fuelled speculation that the tyrant, wanted by the International Criminal Court, might have fled to Zimbabwe. Former Ethiopian Dictator Mengistu Haille Mariam, wanted for genocide, is already holed up in Zimbabwe.
Meanwhile the Daily News has reported that several deals signed between Gaddafi and Zimbabwe were “personal” transactions inked under the auspices of the Libyan government. Mohammed Elbarat, the First Consul at the embassy in Harare said plans were underway to recover the properties “looted” by Gaddafi. Elbarat said the deals benefited the Gaddafi family and not the Libyan people.
“Gaddafi came here in 2002 and signed many business deals. What he did was that he took away all the documents of agreements back to Libya, and also changed embassy staff that handled the bilateral agreements,” Elbarat told the Daily News.
“The transactions were done under Ambassador Mahomend Aziz, who knew all the transactions were all new to the embassy staff here. We only know that he came here, but do not know what he signed for.” He said some of the illegal deals were done last year when Gaddafi’s son Saadi Gaddafi visited Zimbabwe.
“We can only hope that the government of Zimbabwe will realise that these deals did not benefit Libyan people, but Gaddafi and his family, and the people involved in these deals must just cancel them and start new deals with the new administration in Libya,’’ Elbarat said.
The whereabouts of the Libyan dictator are currently unknown after rebels overran the capital and took over his luxurious compound. A one million pound reward has been offered to anyone with information on his whereabouts.
Post published in: Africa News