WATCH | Zimbabwean President Emmerson Mnangagwa survives a bomb blast at ZANU-PF rally

23 June 2018 - 15:33
By SowetanLIVE
 Zimbabwean President Emmerson Mnangagwa.
Zimbabwean President Emmerson Mnangagwa.

Reports have emerged that Zimbabwe President Emmerson Mnangagwa narrowly survived a bomb blast at a ZANU-PF rally he was addressing in Bulawayo on Saturday afternoon.

Mnangagwa was speaking an election rally ahead of that country's tightly contested national elections next month.

Sources say that Mnangagwa was whisked to safety by his security detail.

It’s unknown whether he was hurt in the blast which reportedly injured several ZANU-PF supporters.

A source close to the president told SowetanLIVE that Mnangagwa was "safe".

The Zimbabwe Herald reported that Mnangagwa was unhurt and had been successfully evacuated.

It quoted presidential spokesman George Charamba as saying: “President Mnangagwa has not been injured and is at Bulawayo State House.

Investigations are underway and more details will be given to the public. There have been multiple attempts on the President’s life over the past five years.”

This is a developing story.