President Emmerson Mnangagwa failed to turn up for his ‘Thank You’ Rally which was scheduled to held in Mt Darwin on Saturday afternoon.
In a statement, the Deputy Chief Secretary for Presidential Communications, Mr George Charamba said President Mnangagwa spent the day busy in his office and delegated Vice President Kembo Mohadi to the Mt Darwin event. Said Charamba:
His Excellency the President, E.D. Mnangagwa, today, Saturday, spent the day at his Munhumutapa Offices from where he made contact with a number of Heads of State and Government from the region and on the continent.
The prime objective was for him to brief his colleagues on the situation obtaining in the country following opposition-instigated violent demonstrations which affected the country two weeks ago. He also received reports from returning special envoys he had dispatched to selected countries in the region and on the African continent for the same mission.
This year’s opening ordinary summit of the African Union which the President will attend, is scheduled to convene in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia in the second week of February.
This was supposed to be the first rally to be addressed by Mnangagwa since a brutal military crackdown was launched in January to deal with protests triggered by an unprecedented fuel price hike.