He said: ‘There were six break-in attempts, no police investigation; he was hit by a car and they tried to kill him, no investigation; he was poisoned, no investigation; they put cyanide in his office, no investigation; all his projects as vice-president were sabotaged, and ministers were not reporting to him.’
Emmerson Jr said his father refused to believe that the Mugabes were out to get him until he was given a vanilla ice-cream cone at a Zanu PF rally last August and was violently ill. He was airlifted to South Africa where doctors identified arsenic. The ice-cream allegedly came from Grace’s dairy.
When Mugabe sacked Mnangagwa on 6th November, Emmerson Jr and two of his brothers drove to their father’s house. He said all security had been removed. ‘People were phoning to say, they’re coming to arrest you and will put you in a police station and poison you or hang you and make it look like you committed suicide,’ Emmerson Jr said.
He said he and his father took to the mountains to cross the border into Mozambique, passing through a landmine area, after being stopped at gunpoint at a border checkpoint. From their hiding place in Beira, they were rescued by a friend in South Africa who sent a plane to pick them up and take them to Pretoria where they hid in a small flat ‘living off takeaways from Nandos’.
The article continues: ‘Their guards told them a bounty of $10m (£7.4m) had been put on their heads and that 50 Zimbabwean intelligence agents had been sent to South Africa to search for them.’ (See: http://www.zimvigil.co.uk/vigil-news/campaign-news/940-grace-mugabes-vendetta-against-her-snake-emmerson-mnangagwa).
Emmerson Jr’s account portrays his father in an heroic light and mainly blames Grace for his troubles. But the Vigil is puzzled why Mnangagwa still pays lip service to the myth of Mugabe as the Great Leader, declaring a national holiday in his honour. At the same time, the new Mnangagwa regime claims it has abandoned all Mugabe’s ideological baggage and seeks to cozy up to the formerly-despised ‘Western imperialist racist neo-liberal rapacious capitalists’.
The Vigil is not surprised that Mnangagwa is finding it hard to sack Deputy Finance Minister Terence Mukupe who warned the opposition that the army would never allow anyone but Zanu PF to rule – this from a man accused of fuel smuggling and assaulting a top official in his office and is currently being sued by a Chinese business for an unpaid bill. But how can Mnangagwa sack him when he himself proclaims that Zanu PF will rule forever?
With Mugabe ignoring the will of Parliament to account for his actions and apparently plotting against Mnangagwa, isn’t it time to drop the pretence and finally disown the poisonous Mugabe heritage which has reduced Zimbabwe to penury and destroyed so many lives?
Other points
- Mugabe is reported to be backing the new National Patriotic Front Party, which is complaining to the Southern African Development Community and the African Union that, following the military coup, the situation in Zimbabwe is not conducive to free and fair elections (see: https://www.newsday.co.zw/2018/05/zim-not-conducive-for-free-and-fair-elections/).
- Today we held a demonstration against voter intimidation and election violence in Zimbabwe. Thanks to Esther Munyira for organising this demonstration.
- Thanks to those who came early and helped set up by putting up the banners: Isaac Chawasarira, Junior Madzimure, Rosemary Maponga, Patricia Masamba, Esther Munyira, Patience Muyeye and Jennifer Senzere. Thanks to Rosemary, Patricia and Isaac for looking after the front table, and to Patience, Rosemary and Isaac for handing out flyers.
For latest Vigil pictures check: http://www.flickr.com/photos/zimbabwevigil/. Please note: Vigil photos can only be downloaded from our Flickr website.
FOR THE RECORD: 15 signed the register.
EVENTS AND NOTICES:
- Cycle ride for the Human Rights Defenders’ Project. Vigil activist Sipho Ndlovu will be cycling 219 miles from 28th May – 2nd June to raise funds for the Human Rights Defenders’ Project of the Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights. Sipho will cycle through 6 cities: Luton, Cambridge, Colchester, Chelmsford, Southend-on-Sea and back to London. To donate, visit: https://www.justgiving.com/crowdfunding/sipho-ndlovuhdrproject
- MDC London branch meeting. Saturday 2nd June from 12 noon to 2 pm. Venue: Royal Festival Hall. For more information, contact: Sharon Moyo 07877224113 and Clemence Munyukwi 07889667686.
- ROHR fundraising walk. Saturday 9th June. This will be a sponsored fundraising walk ending at the Vigil. Proceeds will go to pre-election voter education by the Zimbabwe Peace Actors’ Platform (ZimPAP). More information as plans develop. If you wish to take part or contribute, contact: Daizy Fabian 07708653640.
- ROHR Central London branch meeting. Saturday 16th June from 11.30 am – 1.30 pm. Venue: Royal Festival Hall, Contact: Daisy Fabian 07708653640, Maxmus Savanhu 07397809056, Sipho Ndlovu 07400566013.
- The Restoration of Human Rights in Zimbabwe (ROHR) is the Vigil’s partner organization based in Zimbabwe. ROHR grew out of the need for the Vigil to have an organization on the ground in Zimbabwe which reflected the Vigil’s mission statement in a practical way. ROHR in the UK actively fundraises through membership subscriptions, events, sales etc to support the activities of ROHR in Zimbabwe. Please note that the official website of ROHR Zimbabwe is http://www.rohrzimbabwe.org/. Any other website claiming to be the official website of ROHR in no way represents us.
- Save the Zimbabwe elephants protest. Friday 15th June from 1 noon – 2 pm outside the Zimbabwe Embassy. One of our activists Nomusa Dube is organising a protest about the export of baby elephants from Zimbabwe to China. She asks Vigil activists to join her at this protest.
- The Vigil’s book ‘Zimbabwe Emergency’ is based on our weekly diaries. It records how events in Zimbabwe have unfolded over the past 15 years as seen by the diaspora in the UK. It chronicles the economic disintegration, violence, growing oppression and political manoeuvring – and the tragic human cost involved. It is available at the Vigil for £10. All proceeds will go to the Vigil and our sister organisation the Restoration of Human Rights in Zimbabwe’s work in Zimbabwe. The book is also available from Amazon.
- Zimbabwe Action Forum meets regularly after the Vigil to discuss ways to help those back in Zimbabwe to fight oppression and achieve true democracy.
- Zimbabwe Yes We Can Movement holds meetings in London as the political face of ROHR and the Vigil.
- Facebook pages:
Vigil: https://www.facebook.com/zimbabwevigil
ROHR: https://www.facebook.com/Restoration-of-Human-Rights-ROHR-Zimbabwe-International-370825706588551/
ZAF: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Zimbabwe-Action-Forum-ZAF/490257051027515