Mugabe speech blunder, heads to roll in the Office of the President

HEADS are expected to roll soon in the Office of the President and Cabinet amid reports that a witch-hunt has already been launched to sniff out culprits who caused President Robert Mugabe to embarrassingly present an outdated speech during the official opening of Parliament on Tuesday.

This comes as opposition MPs caused a storm in Parliament on Wednesday, as they demanded heads to roll following the blunder, which saw Mugabe reading a speech he presented during his State of the Nation Address three weeks ago, instead of one laying out the legislative agenda.

Insiders yesterday said Mugabe's spokesperson George Charamba, who issued a terse statement acknowledging the gaffe and promised corrective action, was probably off the hook, but the noose seemed to be tightening on other officials in the Office of the President.

"The chief of protocol, Munyaradzi Kajese, seems to be a clear target, as the fall guy along with a female secretary called Gwatiringa.

"These are among a host of officials who are in deep trouble, they are likely to be the scapegoats, although even Charamba should have realised the mistake sooner.

"To make matters worse, when the President's aides realised he was reading the wrong speech, Vice-President Emmerson Mnangagwa and other senior people had the correct speech.

"Parliament officials also had the correct speech that was withdrawn when they realised all had gone wrong," a government source said.

Sources revealed that a number of officials have been summoned to explain the gaffe. Charamba was not available for comment.

MPs yesterday said the mistake had caused irreparable damage to both Mugabe and the country's image internationally and demanded those responsible for the mix-up be relieved of their posts. They also demanded a public apology from leader of the House, VP Mnangagwa. Some MPs suggested Mugabe could have been sabotaged by his subordinates.