Mugabe blasts Trevor Ncube's newspapers

President Robert Mugabe yesterday said the private media had lied about his trip to Equatorial Guinea.

Mugabe's comments follow a recent story by the NewsDay and the Mail and Guardian where its claimed that his recent visit to Equatorial Guinea where he chaired an Ebola Follow-up Conference in his capacity as African Union chairman was aimed at promoting the First Family's private business ventures in that country.

Speaking at a fundraising dinner held in honour of Grace Mugabe's Golden Jubilee early yesterday morning, President Mugabe said the private media had lied about his trip to Equatorial Guinea.

"For example, the last lie I was told about was in the Mail and Guardian, is it? That when we were going to Equatorial Guinea for the Ebola meeting the paper published that we were going there and we've a second objective of negotiating business.

"I'm chairman of Sadc and chairman of the African Union and this is a meeting of the AU and I was going to chair it as a chairman. So, when would I be discussing business and indeed we didn't discuss business at all because there was no such business to discuss?

"You've 54 countries represented. We discuss business with whom? With the host government? When do you get the time? You don't get the time for it and does it happen? Actually when we returned it was midnight. We got here at 1AM and it's difficult work, but it's difficult work we must do, but others must recognise that work is being done and being done for Africa and for the nation."