Zimbabwe president blasts assassination attempt as a ‘cowardly act’ after bombing rocks rally

Zimbabwe’s president was unscathed by an explosion at a campaign rally that state media called an attempt to assassinate him, later visiting his two injured vice presidents and declaring the “cowardly act” will not disrupt next month’s historic elections.

Dramatic footage on Saturday showed a smiling President Emmerson Mnangagwa walking off the stage and into a crowded tent where the blast occurred seconds later, sending up smoke as people screamed and ran for cover.

Officials said Mnangagwa was whisked from the stadium rally to a nearby government building in Bulawayo, a traditional opposition stronghold.

The explosion went off a “few inches away from me, but it is not my time,” the president told state broadcaster ZBC.

Mnangagwa, who has joked openly about multiple attempts on his life in the past, said he was used to them by now.

At least eight people were injured, the state-run Herald newspaper reported. Vice-President Kembo Mohadi had leg injuries, while Constantino Chiwenga, a second vice-president and the former military commander, had bruises on his face, the report said.