Mohadi rubbishes Zwambila claims

By Staff Reporter

HARARE – President Robert Mugabe’s government has rubbished claims by Zimbabwe’s outgoing Ambassador to Australia, Ms Jacqueline Zwambila, that her life will be in danger if she returns to Harare after the expiry of her diplomatic posting. 

Zwambila this week lashed out at the Mugabe regime and requested a protection visa so she can stay on in Australia. Zwambila said Mugabe and Zanu-PF stole the election and had followed up by increasing arrests of MDC supporters on trumped-up charges. She feared indefinite custody if she returned.

“So many things have been done to me since I’ve been here in Australia, the smear campaigns and threats … There is no way I feel safe being in Zimbabwe or going back to Zimbabwe,” she said in an interview.

But Home Affairs Minister Kembo Mohadi said her claims smacked of cheap politicking. He said there was no reason for Ms Zwambila to be afraid of returning home.

“Everyone is entitled to their opinion, but her remarks are surprising because all the leaders of the MDC-T are here. Some of them are members of our Parliament. So, why does she feel threatened? What is so special about her?

“We grant security to everyone. Our mandate is to ensure that law and order is there. If she is threatened by anyone, she should tell us as we are responsible for security here as central Government.”

Zwambila a senior official in the MDC-T was in 2009 deployed to represent the Zimbabwe government in Australia under a shaky power sharing government cobbled together after President Robert Mugabe lost elections in 2008.

“The decision made this month by Ambassador Zwambila to seek political asylum after the expiry of her term, is personal after she looked at her personal circumstances and what she went through at the hands of the Zimbabwe government during her tenure,” the MDC-T said in a statement on Saturday.

“No one would raise a red flag unnecessarily and as a party we remain cautious and concerned after Ambassador Zwambila expressed concern over her personal safety,” MDC spokesperson Nelson Chamisa told news agency AFP.

“What we know for sure is that relations between her and the government were frosty and it’s difficult for us to assure her security as we are not in government.”