Zimbabwe’s First Lady, Auxillia Mnangagwa, was noticeably absent from the First Ladies of Africa Impact and Resilience (FLAIR) summit in London on Tuesday.
Mnangagwa's no-show for the event came as protesters turned up to oppose her appearance over claims of corruption and human rights violations.
She had been listed as one of the speakers at the two-day gathering, which is being held at the Royal Leonardo Hotel near Tower Bridge from 17 to 18 June.
But rather than flying into the UK, she jetted off to Dubai a couple of days early for another event, the Merck Foundation’s First Ladies Initiative Summit, which runs from 18 to 19 June.
According to The Standard newspaper, Labour MP Dawn Butler’s decision to pull out of the London summit sparked a bit of panic among the organisers.
They apparently held an emergency meeting and quietly dropped Auxillia from the programme.
Presidential spokesperson George Charamba, however, played it down, saying the First Lady opted out of the UK event herself because she had “a full plate” with other commitments. Speaking to ZimLive, Charamba said:
You can be invited, but you can also turn down an invite.
Protesters gathered outside the hotel holding banners condemning alleged human rights abuses by President Emmerson Mnangagwa’s government.
Earlier, the activists had submitted a petition to 10 Downing Street, calling on the UK government to deny the Zimbabwean First Lady a visa.
More: ZimLive
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