Categories: Stories

I never take newspapers seriously- Mnangagwa

Vice-President Emmerson Mnangagwa says he never takes newspaper articles seriously.

He said this in the Senate on Thursday after he had been asked whether he lied when he said that a Nigerian journalist, Adeola Faeyhun, had apologised for the embarrassing incident in which she accosted President Robert Mugabe asking him when he intends to resign when he went to the inauguration of Nigerian President  Muhammadu Buhari .

Adeola, who announced on her online television show-Keeping it real– that the incident had marked the end of her career as she was pulling off the show, came back a week later and claimed that she show was continuing because of public demand.

She said she was shocked by a headline in the Sunday Mail that she has apologised to Mugabe because she had never done such a thing. Worse still, Zimbabwe’s Vice-President Emmerson Mnangagwa was a liar because he claimed she had written Mugabe a letter of apology.

“I never take newspapers seriously or discuss articles in the newspapers and think that they are authentic,” Mnangagwa said in response o a question from Senator Misheck Marava. “But if they are, then perhaps they are. What we know is that, the journalist that you are perhaps referring to made an apology. I have not heard an incident or an occasion where she has again withdrawn the apology that she made to her Government.”

According to Hansard, Mnangagwa never said that Adeola had apologised to Mugabe or the Zimbabwean government, but she had written a letter of apology to the Nigerian government which had in turn redirected that letter to the Zimbabwean government.

“The other question which was asked by the hon. member is, has the Nigerian government apologised to His Excellency for such a confrontation which occurred in Nigeria?” Mnangagwa said in response to a question by Gokwe-Nembudziya Member of Parliament Justice Wadyajena last week. “I have not heard anything about a request for apology, but what I know is that the lady journalist wrote a letter apologizing and the letter was addressed to the Nigerian Government. The Nigerian government then redirected the apology letter to the Government of Zimbabwe apologizing for embarrassing the State.”

 

Q & A:

 

SENATOR MARAVA: Thank you Madam President. My question is directed to the Vice President and Minister of Justice, Legal and Parliamentary Affairs, Mr. Mnangagwa. What is the policy or probably you may call it international policy and what steps are available when a Head of State is unfairly treated in a foreign land, a typical example is what happened in Nigeria?

THE VICE PRESIDENT AND MINISTER OF JUSTICE, LEGAL AND PARLIAMENTARY AFFAIRS, (MR. MNANGAGWA): Thank you Madam President. The Geneva Convention on Leadership provides that a Head of State, when he visits another State, the host State has the responsibility to provide security for that Head of State. It does not prescribe the punishment where the receiving State does not measure up to what is expected but it is believed that the States themselves would discuss the issue amicably as member states or as state parties. I do not know what you have in mind. If there was an example, I would examine and interrogate the example. I thank you.

SENATOR MARAVA: The reason why I asked the question Madam President is that, the papers are awash with information that the journalist is denying that she erred and that was my aim.

MR. MNANGAGWA: I suppose we belong to different worlds of understanding. I never take newspapers seriously or discuss articles in the newspapers and think that they are authentic. But if they are, then perhaps they are. What we know is that, the journalist that you are perhaps referring to made an apology. I have not heard an incident or an occasion where she has again withdrawn the apology that she made to her Government.

(622 VIEWS)

This post was last modified on %s = human-readable time difference 11:26 am

Charles Rukuni

The Insider is a political and business bulletin about Zimbabwe, edited by Charles Rukuni. Founded in 1990, it was a printed 12-page subscription only newsletter until 2003 when Zimbabwe's hyper-inflation made it impossible to continue printing.

Recent Posts

ZiG loses steam, falls against US dollar for five consecutive days

The Zimbabwe Gold fell against the United States dollar for five consecutive days from Monday…

November 22, 2024

Indian think tank says Starlink is a wolf in sheep’s clothing

An Indian think tank has described Starlink, a satellite internet service provider which recently entered…

November 18, 2024

ZiG firms against US dollar for 10 days running but people still do not have confidence in the currency

Zimbabwe’s new currency, the Zimbabwe Gold (ZiG), firmed against the United States dollars for 10…

November 16, 2024

Zimbabwe among the top countries with the widest gap between the rich and poor

Zimbabwe is among the top 30 countries in the world with the widest gap between…

November 14, 2024

Can the ZiG sustain its rally against the US dollar?

Zimbabwe’s battered currency, the Zimbabwe Gold, which was under attack until the central bank devalued…

November 10, 2024

Will Mnangagwa go against the trend in the region?

Plans by the ruling Zimbabwe African National Union-Patriotic Front to push President Emmerson Mnangagwa to…

October 22, 2024