‘WE WON’T ALLOW THIS COWARDLY ACT TO GET IN OUR WAY’
HARARE – Zimbabwe’s President Emmerson Mnangagwa says the attempt to assassinate him at a campaign rally on Saturday was a cowardly act that will not disrupt next month's historic elections.
Mnangagwa was unscathed by the explosion at a campaign rally in Bulawayo and later visited his two injured vice presidents.
Dramatic footage showed a smiling President Mnangagwa walking off the stage and into a crowded tent where the blast occurred seconds later, sending up smoke as people screamed and ran for cover.
The explosion went off a "few inches away from me, but it is not my time," the president told state broadcaster ZBC. Mnangagwa, who has joked openly about multiple attempts on his life in the past, said he was used to them by now.
At least eight people were injured, the Herald newspaper reported. Vice President Kembo Mohadi had leg injuries, while Constantino Chiwenga, a second vice president and the former military commander, had bruises on his face, the report said. Most of the injured were discharged from a hospital after treatment, presidential spokesperson George Charamba told the newspaper.
The blast and the lack of clarity about who was behind it injected new uncertainty into preparations for the July 30 elections, the first since longtime leader Robert Mugabe stepped down in November after a military takeover.
Mnangagwa said on Twitter that he was awaiting further information about the blast but added, without elaborating, that those responsible must have come from "outside Bulawayo." He added: "I can assure you these are my normal enemies."
Zimbabwe's main opposition leader, Nelson Chamisa, said on Twitter: "Our prayers go out to the injured and we hope no lives have been lost. Violence must have no place in our politics. "
The United States and Britain were among countries that condemned the explosion.