Mnangagwa's office warns media against malicious reporting

The Office of the President and Cabinet (OPC) has condemned attempts by some media organizations to create discord between Zimbabwe and Zambia, according to President Mnangagwa's spokesman, Mr. George Charamba.

The OPC has called on Alpha Media Holdings' NewsDay newspaper to retract an article that falsely claimed President Mnangagwa described Zambia as a security threat and a "client state" of the United States during his talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Mr. Charamba, who is also the Deputy Chief Secretary to the President and Cabinet (Presidential Communications), criticized the article as "sheer recklessness" and demanded its retraction. He emphasized that the OPC views such intentional falsehoods as a serious attempt to damage relations between Zimbabwe and Zambia, which are sister republics.

The NewsDay article, titled "US scoffs at ED," inaccurately reported that President Mnangagwa had made disparaging remarks about Zambia's security sector and its relationship with the US. Mr. Charamba clarified that President Mnangagwa's actual comments, which are publicly available, condemned America's hostile activities in the SADC region but did not target Zambia.

President Mnangagwa's remarks in St. Petersburg were about the US's increasing military presence in the SADC region posing a security threat, a position shared by the regional bloc and the African Union. Mr. Charamba reiterated that President Mnangagwa did not describe Zambia as a security threat or a client state.

The OPC has demanded an unconditional retraction of the misleading story and emphasized that the Zimbabwean Constitution does not protect the publication of falsehoods and malicious misrepresentations. The OPC reserves the right to seek redress and enforce professional standards in journalism.