Mzembi on the run; Chimedza arrested while fleeing to South Africa

Zimbabwe Foreign Affairs Minister Walter Mzembi confirmed Wednesday that he was a fugitive as cabinet colleagues and G40 allies Jonathan Moyo and Saviour Kasukuwere were reportedly picked up by the military.

Mzembi, who was out of the country as the military takeover unfolded, confirmed that he was now a fugitive.

The minister, a Mugabe favourite, was recently promoted to the foreign affairs portfolio after his unsuccessful bid to become secretary general of the United Nations World Tourism Organisation (UNWTO).

“I just got a surprise solidarity call from UNWTO Secretary-General Taleb Rifai and Hon Charles Banda of Zambia,” Mzembi told a global travel publication Wednesday.

He did not disclose his whereabouts, but added; “I am touched by the expression of empathy and sympathy for my well-being and that of my family under these difficult circumstances.

“It really got to the bottom of my heart that a country I carried the cross for most recently in the UNWTO elections could be seeking to create a fugitive out of me,” he said.

Meanwhile, Doctor Paul Chimedza, the newly-appointed resident minister for Masvingo province has been arrested while trying to flee to South Africa, according to military sources.

Chimedza joins local government minister  and Zanu PF Commissar Saviour Kasukuwere,  minister of higher education Jonathan Moyo, minister of finance Ignatius Chombo and Zanu (pf) youth leader Kudzanai Chipanga who have been taken into custody by the military.

More than 40 officials have so far been arrested and placed in detention.