HARARE – One of President Robert Mugabe’s motorcade bikers was left badly injured in Harare on Monday during the evening rush hour, after he crashed into a motorist while trying to clear traffic for the 93-year-old who was on his way to State House where he was hosting the visiting Lesotho king.

 The hapless outrider was quickly removed from the scene by other security details, to allow the president’s motorcade to pass through.
 Stunned eyewitnesses told the Daily News yesterday that the spectacular accident had happened when the BMW bike outrider rammed into a Toyota Corolla which had apparently reacted slowly to the presidential motorcade — causing significant panic among motorists, who were given a torrid time by Mugabe’s aides.

According to the law, it is an offence not to pull from the road when Mugabe’s speeding motorcade approaches.

One of the eyewitnesses who spoke to the Daily News said the unlucky outrider who was involved in the accident had moved into the lane of oncoming traffic, in his desperate bid to pave way for Mugabe’s lengthy convoy, which was fast approaching.

This unfortunately saw him ending up ramming into the Toyota Corrolla.

And as is the usual practice under those circumstances, Mugabe’s motorcade zoomed past the accident scene, as security measures dictate that the president’s convoy does not stop until it reaches its destination.

Afterwards, eyewitnesses said, agitated police and members of Mugabe’s security team questioned the terrified driver of the Toyota Corrolla — whose vehicle sustained huge dents on both the driver’s and back passenger’s doors due to the impact of the crash with the outrider.

The name and condition of the biker, who was said to have been taken to hospital, was not known at the time of going to press.

The accident occurred after Mugabe had just welcomed King Letsie III of Lesotho at the Harare International, who is in Zimbabwe on an official four day State visit. Daily News