President unhurt in bomb blast

HARARE, Zimbabwe — The nation’s president was unscathed Saturday by an explosion at a campaign rally that state media called an attempt to assassinate him, later visiting his two injured vice presidents and declaring the “cowardly act” will not disrupt next month’s historic elections.

Footage showed a smiling President Emmerson 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. Officials said Mnangagwa was whisked from the stadium rally to a nearby government building in Bulawayo, a traditional opposition stronghold. 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 staterun 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.

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, who had been fired as Mugabe’s deputy in a ruling party feud shortly before the power transition, took over with pledges to deliver free and fair elections. Mnangagwa said on Twitter 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 . ... Violence must have no place in our politics. “

Farai Mutsaka is an Associated Press writer.