HARARE,– The Office of the President and Cabinet has strongly condemned an article published in today’s issue of AMH’s NewsDay.
The front-page story titled “US scoffs at ED” has been described as “offensive,” “grossly and maliciously misrepresenting,” and “maligning” the President Mnangagwa.
The NewsDay article, allegedly drawing from President Mnangagwa’s recent bilateral meeting with President Vladimir Putin of Russia in St. Petersburg, falsely claims that President Mnangagwa indicated that “Zambia posed a security threat to Zimbabwe as its security sector was funded by the US government.”
It further inaccurately reported that Mnangagwa accused Zambia of being “an American client-state bent on destabilizing the region.”
In response, the Office of the President and Cabinet issued a statement refuting these claims. “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 Region, which are calculated to isolate Zimbabwe and undermine peaceful inter-state relations,” the statement read.
The President’s office emphasized that Mnangagwa’s remarks in St. Petersburg were focused on America’s military activities in the SADC region, which he described as a threat.
“The threat which President Mnangagwa raised with his Russian counterpart in St. Petersburg, comes from American military activities in SADC, which continue to escalate and which must be roundly condemned,” the statement continued.
The Office categorically denied that President Mnangagwa described Zambia as posing a “security threat” or as a “client state” of the United States or any other power.
“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,” the statement asserted.
George Charamba, Deputy Chief Secretary for Presidential Communications, called for an immediate retraction from NewsDay. “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,” Charamba stated.
Charamba also reminded the publication of their responsibilities under the Constitution. “Section 61 of the Constitution of Zimbabwe provides no refuge to publishers and vendors of falsehoods and malicious misrepresentations. 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,” he warned.
The Office of the President and Cabinet reaffirmed its commitment to protecting Zimbabwe’s national security interests and maintaining harmonious relations within the SADC region and the broader African Union.
