Eddie Cross fails to provide evidence of Mnangagwa corruption

Unconfirmed reports claim that President Emmerson Mnangagwa and First Lady Auxillia Mnangagwa launched a blistering attack on prominent economist and former presidential adviser Eddie Cross following his explosive claims that the First Family is "deeply corrupt" and that the President's sons are involved in "criminal activities."

Cross, a former opposition MP with the MDC, made the remarks on Monday in the wake of a national anti-government stayaway. In a subsequent effort to contain the fallout, Cross met with Mnangagwa at State House in Harare on Tuesday to apologise.

Sources close to the matter described the meeting as stormy, with an outraged Mnangagwa furiously demanding that Cross provide concrete evidence of the alleged corruption. "Cross was either very brave or very foolish, or both, to say what he said," a ZANU PF minister told a local internet news outlet.

According to insiders, Cross - under intense pressure from top officials and Mnangagwa's allies - sought the meeting to defuse tensions. But the discussion quickly turned into a heated confrontation, with the President cornering Cross over the damaging allegations.

Unable to provide documentation to support his claims, Cross apologised to Mnangagwa, admitting that implicating the First Family directly had been a misstep. However, he stood by his broader claims about widespread corruption within the government.

The situation escalated further on Wednesday when Cross encountered First Lady Auxillia Mnangagwa at a State House reception. Witnesses said the First Lady unleashed a "hell hath no fury like a woman scorned" outburst, furiously demanding proof that her sons were involved in corruption.

"She wanted to kill me; she was fierce. She was mad at me as hell. It was bad. You know a mother fighting for her children. It was like that," Cross later said.

Those who witnessed the incident described it as a wave of verbal assault, with Auxillia hurling a torrent of insults and demanding retractions. The sheer intensity of her response reportedly left Cross shaken.

Realising the situation was spiralling, Cross backed down and again apologised for his comments about the First Family. Still, he did not completely withdraw his stance.

"I apologised for the allegations I made against the First Family, but I didn't retract my general statements that there is vast corruption in government," Cross told the internet news outlet. "It is in the interest of the President and the people to deal with corruption - that's the main point I was making."

Despite being rattled, Cross said he continues to hear stories from across the country implicating the President's family in corruption, though he admits he does not possess hard evidence.

Mnangagwa has since demanded a detailed report from Cross on corruption within government. "The President then demanded a report on corruption, which I'm now working on," Cross said.

The dramatic fallout underscores the deep sensitivities surrounding corruption allegations within Zimbabwe's ruling elite and highlights the increasing pressure on the Mnangagwa administration to address governance concerns amid growing public dissatisfaction.