News / National
Germany ambassador attacked in Zimbabwe
03 Mar 2011 at 10:12hrs | Views
Germany has strongly protested to Zimbabwe after a mob attacked the official vehicle of German ambassador to Zimbabwe Albrecht Conze in Harare this week. The ambassador and his driver survived the attack Tuesday night unscathed, made a police report and protested to the minister of Foreign Affairs Simbarashe Mumbengegwi.
The attackers are unknown but the attack comes amidst escalating official rhetoric against the EU. The German embassy said the agressors were unknown.
The official Mercedes-Benz limousine's window was damaged but no one in the ambassador's vehicle was physically harmed, the embassy said in a statement. The incident occurred as the ambassador made his way home. "On its way from the Embassy to the residence, at around 7.15 p.m. on 1st March, the German ambassador's official car, a Mercedes-Benz limousine, was attacked and severely damaged by unknown aggressors,"
The embassy statement said. "The ambassador's driver had been forced to stop at the Churchill Road/College Road junction as another vehicle, coming out of College Road, had the right of way. As the vehicle stopped, the rear right window was twice hit from outside with a heavy (probably metallic) device.
However, the badly damaged window resisted, and the aggressor - not visible from the inside of the vehicle - refrained from hitting a third time - something he could have done to finally smash the window. The driver then managed to speed off from the scene. Neither he nor the ambassador were injured."
The German embassy said the incident was reported to Avondale Police Station and the ministry of Foreign Affairs.
The attack comes hardly a week after the ambassador penned an article on empowerment, 'Best practices for Empowerment - a German view,' that has infuriated the authorities. A shadowy columnist, Nathaniel Manheru wrote in the Herald: "Asade kutitsika conze, sorry, konzi, sezita rake.
"Zimbabwe is no land for the archetypal supple African of colonial lore. We are a very proud, self-believing people, and that he must be told in stark language, that man. That is the language Germans understand. They are not well known for any aristocratic graces, whether by deed or by tongue.
You talk to them on their rough terms, and they understand you, respect you even," Manheru wrote in last week's installment. The attack on the German ambassador's vehicle highlights the risks Western diplomats face working for their interests in Zimbabwe.
The attackers are unknown but the attack comes amidst escalating official rhetoric against the EU. The German embassy said the agressors were unknown.
The official Mercedes-Benz limousine's window was damaged but no one in the ambassador's vehicle was physically harmed, the embassy said in a statement. The incident occurred as the ambassador made his way home. "On its way from the Embassy to the residence, at around 7.15 p.m. on 1st March, the German ambassador's official car, a Mercedes-Benz limousine, was attacked and severely damaged by unknown aggressors,"
The embassy statement said. "The ambassador's driver had been forced to stop at the Churchill Road/College Road junction as another vehicle, coming out of College Road, had the right of way. As the vehicle stopped, the rear right window was twice hit from outside with a heavy (probably metallic) device.
However, the badly damaged window resisted, and the aggressor - not visible from the inside of the vehicle - refrained from hitting a third time - something he could have done to finally smash the window. The driver then managed to speed off from the scene. Neither he nor the ambassador were injured."
The German embassy said the incident was reported to Avondale Police Station and the ministry of Foreign Affairs.
The attack comes hardly a week after the ambassador penned an article on empowerment, 'Best practices for Empowerment - a German view,' that has infuriated the authorities. A shadowy columnist, Nathaniel Manheru wrote in the Herald: "Asade kutitsika conze, sorry, konzi, sezita rake.
"Zimbabwe is no land for the archetypal supple African of colonial lore. We are a very proud, self-believing people, and that he must be told in stark language, that man. That is the language Germans understand. They are not well known for any aristocratic graces, whether by deed or by tongue.
You talk to them on their rough terms, and they understand you, respect you even," Manheru wrote in last week's installment. The attack on the German ambassador's vehicle highlights the risks Western diplomats face working for their interests in Zimbabwe.
Source - Byo24News
