President Emmerson Mnangagwa has defended his unannounced trip to Belarus, saying “a king can always travel when it is his time to do so,” after questions emerged over his sudden absence from Zimbabwe last week.
Speaking during an exchange with ZBC journalist Reuben Barwe, Mnangagwa dismissed speculation surrounding his trip, which had triggered public discussion after reports surfaced that he had quietly left the country late Wednesday night without the usual state departure ceremony.
“When I go out I don’t go to villages saying I’m going out,” Mnangagwa said.
“Mambo anongofamba kana nguvayake yakwana yekudakufamba,” he added, loosely translated as: “A king can always travel when it is his time to do so.”
Barwe had asked the President about “people who were lying that Chef disappeared,” in apparent reference to widespread speculation following the President’s unexplained absence before his return on Saturday night.
Mnangagwa’s reported trip to Belarus took place without ministers or senior government officials accompanying him to the airport, a departure from the customary protocol associated with presidential foreign visits.
The 83-year-old leader is understood to have travelled to Belarus for engagements linked to Zimbabwe’s growing diplomatic and economic ties with President Alexander Lukashenko’s government.
The low-profile visit came at a politically sensitive time as Parliament prepares to debate the Constitution of Zimbabwe Amendment (No. 3) Bill, 2026, a controversial proposal that seeks significant changes to the country’s governance framework.
Among the proposed amendments are provisions to extend presidential and parliamentary terms, as well as changes to the method of electing the President from a direct public vote to an indirect parliamentary process.
Mnangagwa’s absence also reportedly saw him miss a farewell dinner held in honour of outgoing Chief Justice Luke Malaba in Harare on Thursday evening. Vice Presidents Constantino Chiwenga and Kembo Mohadi attended the event instead.
Government spokesperson Ndavaningi Mangwana later confirmed that Mohadi attended the function on behalf of the President, while presidential spokesperson George Charamba did not publicly comment on the President’s whereabouts during the trip.
The timing of the Belarus visit has drawn political attention amid growing debate over the proposed constitutional amendments.
Critics, including opposition parties, legal experts and civil society groups, have argued that the changes could weaken democratic safeguards and further centralise executive power.
Earlier this week, the Zimbabwe Catholic Bishops’ Conference warned that the bill risked “undermining foundational constitutional principles, weakening institutional independence, diminishing direct democratic participation, and eroding constitutional safeguards against the concentration and abuse of power.”
The bishops also argued that any proposed constitutional changes of such magnitude should be subjected to a national referendum.
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