President Emmerson Mnangagwa cancelled his trip to New York this week for the annual United Nations General Assembly, his spokesman said because of a “dense programme in the last quarter of 2024.”
The unprecedented development, the first time Mnangagwa will not address the UN Assembly since taking power in 2017, comes amid growing tensions in his Zanu PF party over extending his second and final term, and safety concerns after a string of incidents including Sunday’s accident involving his helicopter in Masvingo.
George Charamba issued a statement shortly after midday on Friday announcing Mnangagwa’s decision to skip the summit following enquiries from ZimLive.
Mnangagwa’s cancellation of the New York trip must have been “abrupt,” a source said, because “a large advance party of over 30 people is already in New York, including state media journalists.”
Charamba said foreign minister Fredrick Shava would read Mnangagwa’s speech at the UN.
The only time Mnangagwa has not gone to the annual summit since becoming president was in 2020 and 2021 during the Covid-19 health emergency which forced leaders to record speeches from their countries, which were then beamed to the assembly.
Earlier on Friday, sources had told ZimLive that Mnangagwa, who turned 82 last week, would stay in the country because paranoia among his aides and loyalists was “running rampant.”
Mnangagwa survived an assassination attempt when a bomb went off at White City Stadium in 2018, and some in his circle fear Sunday’s crash of his helicopter – even though he was not onboard – was no an accident.
There have been other incidents in recent months – a break-in at his son’s home, a break-in at his nephew’s government office, a bomb hoax at Victoria Falls International Airport which forced his plane to return to Harare midflight and the presence of lasers near the Robert Gabriel Mugabe International Airport which targeted his pilots as they prepared to land from a trip to Mozambique.
This has happened as Mnangagwa’s loyalists publicly urge him to change the constitution and extend his term or run for office again. The push has divided the party and angered supporters of his ambitious deputy Constantino Chiwenga, seen by many as Mnangagwa’s likely successor when his second and final term runs out in 2028.
Referring to the Zanu PF leadership, an insider said: “It’s very hot in the cockpit. Relations are frayed and the mistrust is deep. We are fast approaching a national crisis.”
