Mnangagwa returning home, skips Davos

President Emmerson Mnangagwa today said he is skipping the World Economic Forum summit at Davos, Switzerland, to return home to get Zimbabwe calm, stable and working again.

Mnangagwa has been on a five-nation tour of the former Soviet bloc including Russia and was scheduled to attend the Davos summit but he tweeted today that he is returning home.

“In light of the economic situation, I will be returning home after a highly productive week of bilateral trade and investment meetings,” he said.

“We will be ably represented in Davos by Minister of Finance, Mthuli Ncube. The first priority is to get Zimbabwe calm, stable and working again.”

Mnangagwa left Zimbabwe shortly after announcing hefty fuel prices increases which reportedly sparked protests which started on Monday and ended on Wednesday but turned violent with massive looting and several deaths.

His spokesman George Charamba, however, argued that the protests had nothing to do with the fuel price hike but were planned months ago to unseat an elected government, raise Movement for Democratic Change leader Nelson Chamisa’s profile and force Mnangagwa into a government of national unity.

MDC leader Nelson Chamisa has, however, blamed Mnangagwa for the violence that erupted accusing him of failing to protect the people.

Mnangagwa’s return follows widespread whispers about divisions within his party with some members of the military complaining that they are not benefitting from the new dispensation which they brought about in 2017.

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