HARARE – President Emmerson Mnangagwa will avoid a public humiliation on the world stage after announcing he was cancelling a planned trip to the World Economic Forum (WEF) in Davos, Switzerland, to return home where the military is laying siege on a restive population.

Mnangagwa lit the fuse on a powder keg of national discontent on January 12 when he announced a shock 150 increase in the price of fuel, before flying off to Eastern Europe where he remained on Sunday.

In his absence, trade unions shut down the country for three days and youths poured out into the streets to protest the most expensive fuel prices in the world.

A military and police crackdown that followed, and is ongoing, has left at least 12 people dead, most of them shot by soldiers without provocation, say human rights groups.

But even as the country burned, Mnangagwa appeared determined to finish his four-country trip to Russia, Belarus, Azerbaijan and Uzbekistan where he was begging for a huge financial bailout to kick-start the failing economy and save his embattled government.

Reports of a plot to oust him through an impeachment process at home, and a growing international lobby against his presence in Davos finally appeared to have persuaded him it was time to fly home.

“In light of the economic situation, I will be returning home after a highly productive week of bilateral trade and investment meetings,” Mnangagwa said through his official Twitter account with no hint of irony as social media remains banned in Zimbabwe since the protests.

Mnangagwa said he was sending Finance Minister Mthuli Ncube to Davos instead, adding: “The first priority is to get Zimbabwe calm, stable and working again.”

The brief statement did not state the time or date of his return.

Joseph Cotterill, the Southern Africa correspondent for the Financial Times, said the atrocities being committed by the military in Zimbabwe had turned the world against the 76-year-old Zanu PF leader.

“That Mnangagwa will not be going to Davos underlines his growing isolation on the world stage,” Cotterill said on Twitter.

Mnangagwa is reportedly facing a rebellion from Zanu PF MPs and his deputy Constantino Chiwenga, with claims that a plot is afoot to oust him. The plotters are reported to have the backing of party heavyweights like Patrick Chinamasa, Obert Mpofu and Oppah Muchinguri.

Terence Mukupe, a former Zanu PF MP and Mnangagwa ally, on Sunday posted a cryptic message on Twitter which said: “Thank you ZIPRA cadres for your words of comfort and continued support.”

ZIPRA is thought to be a reference to Zimbabwe Defence Forces Commander Phillip Valerio Sibanda, who fought on the side of the Zimbabwe People’s Revolutionary Army during the 1970s war for independence.

If Sibanda has indeed given assurances of support to Mnangagwa, that would be a blow to the Zanu PF leader’s rivals who could face his vengeful wrath, triggering a re-organisation in the party and potentially a Cabinet reshuffle.