Security experts comb Mnangagwa blasts scene

White City Stadium was yesterday turned into a no-go area as top security officials continued to comb the scene of the weekend's bomb attack for leads.

Part of the investigation team dispatched here includes forensic specialists and explosives experts, who are sifting for clues to what is being viewed as an assassination attempt on Mnangagwa.

Meanwhile, Agriculture minister, former Air Force of Zimbabwe (AFZ) commander Air Chief Marshal Perrance Shiri yesterday warned those behind the "terrorist" explosion that rocked the Zanu-PF campaign rally at White City Stadium in Bulawayo on Saturday injuring 49 that they were "playing with fire".

Shiri's warning came a day after President Emmerson Mnangagwa escaped death by a whisker following an explosion that left scores of people seriously injured including senior government officials — Vice-President Kembo Mohadi, Zanu-PF chair Oppah Muchinguri and party commissar Engelbert Rugeje.
 
Opposition political parties and other interest groups yesterday condemned the use of violence against political opponents, describing the mysterious explosion that hit a Zanu-PF campaign rally at White City Stadium on Saturday, injuring 49 party and State security officials, as uncalled for given that the country was just a few weeks away from the July 30 general elections.

The incident happened shortly after President Emmerson Mnangagwa had finished addressing the gathering.

In a message posted on his Facebook wall soon after the incident, Mnangagwa said: "Let us continue to be united and address our differences peacefully. The strongest response to violence is peace. The strongest response to hate is love. God Bless Zimbabwe."