LONDON – Auxillia Mnangagwa will run the gauntlet when she travels to the United Kingdom in June with protests planned by Zimbabwean rights activists.
The first lady will also face questions from British lawmakers over the continued detention of journalist Blessed Mhlanga “and the overall brutality of the regime she represents.”
Her planned trip to the UK came into focus on Wednesday in the House of Lords, the upper chamber of the UK parliament, when Lord Johnny Oates called on British lawmakers to confront her over Mhlanga’s incarceration and her husband’s reported bid to extend his term in office.
Lord Oates told the Lords that Mhlanga’s only crime was “having the temerity to conduct an interview” with a dissenting voice who exposed “the criminal corruption of the regime and the president’s family.”
“In Zimbabwe, a country close to my heart, media freedom has been under siege for decades now. Journalists are regularly intimidated, detained and, on occasion, murdered. Printing presses have been blown up and public dissent silenced,” Lord Oates said.
“As we speak, the journalist Blessed Mhlanga has been detained for 59 days and denied his constitutional right to bail. His crime is having the temerity to conduct an interview with a former war veteran who opposes President Mnangagwa’s desire to extend his term in office and has highlighted the criminal corruption of the regime and the president’s family.
“I note that the president’s wife is due to speak at a summit in London in June. I hope that members of our parliament who are choosing to take part will challenge Zimbabwe’s first lady on the continued detention of Blessed Mhlanga and the overall brutality of the regime she represents, and I hope the government will continue to make clear that there will be no resumption of normal relations with Zimbabwe while the Zanu PF regime continues to detain journalists, deny media freedom and defy democratic norms.
“As the noble Baroness, Lady Mobarik, said in her excellent speech, there must be consequences for such actions.”
The debate was initiated by Baroness Mobarik, who asked what steps the UK government was taking as part of the Media Freedom Coalition to ensure journalist safety worldwide.
Zimbabwe remains suspended from the Commonwealth, with some nations opposing its re-admission due to ongoing human rights concerns.
Zimbabwean rights activists based in the United Kingdom are planning protests outside the venue of the First Ladies of African Impact and Resilience (FLAIR) summit where Auxillia Mnangagwa is billed to speak.
