PRESIDENT Mnangagwa has expressed surprise that some members
of former President Robert Mugabe’s family are not in the country allegedly
fearing persecution and were worried about being barred from attending the
funeral of the veteran nationalist who passed away on Friday.
Mr Patrick Zhuwao, Cde Mugabe’s nephew, is reported to be
in “exile” fearing for his life.
This emerged at the weekend as the Mugabe family engaged
President Mnagangwa on logistics to give the former President a fitting send
off.
The family appointed Mr Leo Mugabe as its sole
spokesperson.
Deputy Chief Secretary to the President and Cabinet, Mr
George Charamba, who is also the presidential spokesperson, revealed that on Friday, the Mugabe family
and Zvimba chieftainship connected with the President through the Minister of
Justice and Parliamentary Affairs, Cde Ziyambi Ziyambi and Philip Chiyangwa at
State House during which meeting they
expressed gratitude for the support which the President, in his personal
capacity as well as Government, extended to the former President and his
family.
The former Head of State, who died at the age of 95 at a
Singaporean hospital, had been unwell for a long time.
The Mugabe emissaries requested that the President extends
the same assistance to the family to get more members of both Mugabe and Marufu
family to travel to Singapore to share in the grief with the former First Lady,
Grace and assist with the overall arrangement of the repatriation of the body
of the late Cde Mugabe.
Mr Charamba said the family wanted assurance from the
President that family members who had either left the country on their own or
had gone into self-exile could attend the funeral without fearing arrest.
In response,
President Mnangagwa acceded to all the requests by the family.
Said Mr Charamba: ‘‘The President immediately gave
instructions to the Chief Secretary to the President and Cabinet, Mr Misheck
Sibanda, to ensure that the delegation comprising both the Mugabe and Marufu
families and party officials and Government representatives depart for
Singapore today to support the former First Lady and that a chartered plane
must be secured to take them to and from Singapore.
‘‘Secondly, President Mnangangwa expressed surprise that
there were some members of the Mugabe family who had left the country without
any indication that they were facing any charges. In any event, if this had
been made clear to the President, the Mugabe family would be protected against
undue victimisation.
“In particular the President could not understand why
Patrick Zhuwao had left the country except, possibly, in solidarity with his
colleagues, one of whom had in fact been in and out of the country,’’ he said,
in apparent reference to another “G40” kingpin, Saviour Kasukuwere.
Mr Charamba explained that in respect to travel documents
of Mugabe family members who are currently undergoing trial in the courts, the
President instructed the Minister of Justice and Parliamentary Affairs Ziyambi
Ziyambi together with the courts to look into the matter, stressing that travel
documents were not held by the Government but by the courts.
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