Only her Press department and selected journalists from the
State media were allowed to take pictures at the event.
Eagle-eyed bodyguards threatened villagers and journalists
alike after seeing them capturing the event with their mobile phones.
Auxillia’s Press department could be seen sending aides to
pounce on some people seen taking pictures.
“It’s my first time to see her (Mai Mnangagwa) and this
occasion is good history I would have loved to share with my husband who is
working in South Africa. He comes on major holidays only and wanted to share
from my phone the historic event of myself so close to her,” said Maritha
Mbedzi of Mtetengwe.
“The security person threatened me with arrest and forced
me to delete the footage I captured myself dancing, with Mai Mnangagwa some 40
metres behind me in the background,” she said.
The First Lady’s photographer John Manzongo signalled that
a fellow journalist be stopped from recording footage of the proceedings.
In July last year, Manzongo threatened to have journalists
from the private media arrested after they had gone to cover an event where
Auxillia was commissioning a clinic at the Marondera Female Open Prison.
The clinic had been built under the First Lady’s Angel of
Hope Foundation with funding from TelOne.
Some journalists even from other State media houses
complained of shrunken media space.
Mnangagwa was in Beitbridge on her philanthropic work in
which she mingled with the elderly and girls.
Beitbridge Chief Tshitauze, born David Mbedzi, thanked the
First Lady for her commitment to help groom the youths.
“You took part in tree-planting and your programmes will
help youths in their communities. You have told children to take education
seriously and those values are important lessons to our communities,” he said
in his vote of thanks.
Villagers were later treated to a sumptuous meal and each
received a 50kg bag of maize. Newsday
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