LONDON, England – Foreign Minister Sibusiso Moyo and Information Ministry permanent secretary Ndavaningi Mangwana were hustled and had water sprayed on them in an unprecedented attack on Zimbabwean government officials in a foreign country.
Moyo and Mangwana were leaving Chatham House in London on Friday when a group of Zimbabwean protesters shouting “thieves” confronted them.
One of Moyo’s bodyguards appeared to forcefully shove a female protester in the face – incensing the others who pushed and shoved the Zimbabwe officials. A female protester splashed water over the officials.
Moyo and Mangwana were bundled into a waiting BMW which sped off, leaving behind the security aide accused of roughing-up a woman protester. The aide was harassed by the protesters who kept pulling him and yelling at him.
Not since gay rights activist Peter Tatchell tried to effect a citizen’s arrest on President Robert Mugabe in 2001 in Brussels, Belgium, has there been such a physical confrontation of Zimbabwean officials outside the country.
It is the first ever incident of Zimbabwean exiles physically confronting their government officials in a foreign country.
In a statement released after the incident, Mangwana said similar behaviour by “opposition supporters” in Zimbabwe has forced security forces to act – an apparent reference to the killing of opposition activists by the military last August and in January this year.
“The government condemns the violent attacks against the delegation by a group of opposition supporters outside Chatham House in London,” he said. “It is tragic that the spectre of violence during protests witnessed in Zimbabwe, which forces the security services to act, has reared its ugly head in foreign land, discrediting not the government but the hoodlums themselves and embarrassing peace-loving Zimbabweans.”
Moyo and Mangwana were in the UK as part of their government’s efforts to fix their broken relationship with London.
