‘I left Zimbabwe with the help of angels’

…says former Grace Mugabe ally

HARARE - Grace Mugabe ally and former cabinet minister Jonathan Moyo says he and his family escaped an attack by soldiers as they sheltered at the home of a colleague on the night of the military takeover in Zimbabwe.

Speaking in an interview with the BBC's Hardtalk programme, Moyo denied earlier reports that he took shelter, together with cabinet colleague Saviour Kasukuwere, at the home of former president Robert Mugabe.

"There were 11 of us at (Kasukuwere's) residence when the residence was attacked," Moyo said.

"They (soldiers) subjected it to some 15 minutes of gunfire and amazingly after those 15 minutes… the sounds of gunfire just went silent and we waited there for something like 10 minutes and there was no movement or sign of the special forces… and we then managed to get out of the house and we were amazed they were no longer there," he added.

Moyo and Kasukuwere were leading figures of the G40 faction that was promoting Grace Mugabe to take over from her husband until he was ousted during the November 15 military takeover and replaced with Emmerson Mnangagwa.

Moyo said he later slipped out of the country legally with the help of "angels."

"I left Zimbabwe with the help of people who to me are angels because they saved lives," Moyo said. "I escaped the net of the military people to be where I am legally."–AFP