Mugabe faces a possible backlash

PRESIDENT Robert Mugabe faces a possible UN backlash over the inexplicable disappearance of journalist-cum-political activist Itai Dzamara three months ago, The Standard can exclusively reveal.

Foreign Affairs ministry officials told The Standard recently that Mugabe has since ordered the opening of a file on Dzamara following pressure from the UN which wants answers.

"The Dzamara issue is giving people sleepless nights. There are a lot of theories about his disappearance but the problem for the government now is that the UN has demanded answers," an official said on condition of anonymity.

"Some countries, particularly in the West are agitating for the issue to be discussed at the next meeting of the Security Council and General Assembly."

According to the official, there has been a flurry of communication between UN and Zimbabwean officials with the world body demanding answers on Dzamara's whereabouts.

"They have demanded answers and the government at one time in a letter claimed Dzamara had been abducted in an MDC-T vehicle. However, that explanation was rejected by the UN because government could not explain how that information was obtained and what happened after the abduction," the Standard was told.

While Foreign Affairs permanent secretary Joey Bimha flatly denied there had been any communication between Zimbabwean authorities and UN officials, a United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) official in Harare confirmed it.

Sources also claimed Zimbabwe's embassies across the globe and in particular in Britain have been picketed over the activist's disappearance and government's alleged lacklustre approach to finding him.

A visiting US diplomat Steven Feldstein recently said the Americans wanted "the facts" on Dzamara's disappearance as soon as possible.