Cape Town – Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe on Saturday reportedly came face to face with Zambian protesters who expressed their dislike for him over his continued 35-years grip on power.
According to reports, Mugabe, who came back from his annual leave in the Far East arrived in Zimbabwe on Thursday and flew out to Zambia for the inauguration of the country’s new president well before the election results were announced.
A video showing the protesters waving their hands in the air and chanting "Mugabe must go" went viral on YouTube.
Watch the video below.
Mugabe, who is chair of the Southern African Development Community (SADC) and incoming African Union (AU) chair, was met at the Kenneth Kaunda International Airport by Zambia’s Minister of Chiefs and Traditional Affairs Nkandu Luo and Zimbabwe’s ambassador Getrude Takawira and her deputy Marshall Matutu.
According to The Standard, it was not clear what sparked the demonstrations or who organised them.
New Zimbabwe.com said the protest was a clear demonstration of the protesters’ dislike for the veteran leader.
This is the one of the rare cases of Mugabe being decampaigned on the continent at such a large and public scale, as until now he has been relatively popular with youths across most of Africa for his strong pan-African rhetoric, the Daily News said.
Mugabe has led Zimbabwe since 1980 when the southern African country gained its independence from Britain.