Mnangagwa Threatens NewsDay Over "US Scoffs At ED" Report
President Emmerson Mnangagwa has demanded that local publication NewsDay retract a story published on June 28th, titled “US Scoffs at ED”.
The article was based on remarks made by Mnangagwa during a recent conversation with Russian President Vladimir Putin in St. Petersburg.
In the meeting, Mnangagwa claimed that the United States was consolidating its influence in neighbouring Zambia, both in terms of security and financial support, in order to isolate Zimbabwe.
However, in a statement issued on Friday, Mnangagwa’s spokesperson George Charamba accused NewsDay of falsely asserting that the Zimbabwean president had stated that “Zambia posed a security threat to Zimbabwe” and that “Zambia had become an American client-state and was bent on destabilizing the region.”
Charamba warned that the Office of the President would take unspecified action against the newspaper if the story was not retracted. Said Charamba:
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The Office of the President and Cabinet takes very strong exception to both misrepresentations cited above, which are intentionally malicious, and which are meant to drive a wedge between the two sister Republics of Zimbabwe and Zambia.
President Mnangagwa’s remarks were very clear and are in the public domain; they pointedly referred to, and abhorred America’s hostile activities in the Sadc [Southern African Development Community] region, which activities are calculated to isolate Zimbabwe, and to undermine peaceful inter-state relations, good neighbourliness and cohesion which all member states in our region are sworn to, continually cherish and jealously guard.
For the record and for the avoidance of any doubt, President Mnangagwa stands by his remarks in St Petersburg which raised well-founded fears for Zimbabwe regarding American intentions and activities in our region, and which voiced and defended Zimbabwe’s sacrosanct security interests, while echoing the collective position of Sadc and the African Union, AU, against any foreign military presence and/or activities on African soil.
At no point did the president of Zimbabwe describe the sister Republic of Zambia as posing a security threat to Zimbabwe or as a client state of any power, including America.
In view of the abundant malice and the sheer recklessness in the NewsDay story, the Office of the President and Cabinet demands that the Editor of the offending publication unconditionally retracts the misleading story without any delay.
Section 61 of the Constitution of Zimbabwe provides no refuge to publishers and vendors of falsehoods and malicious misrepresentations.
To that end, the Office of the President and Cabinet reserves the right to seek repair, and to ensure enforcement of professional standards in newsrooms and in publications where these fall short.
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