Share

Durban man arrested for Zimbabwe bomb threat that turned Mnangagwa plane around

accreditation
0:00
play article
Subscribers can listen to this article
A flight carrying Zimbabwe's president Emmerson Mnangagwa to Victoria Falls turned around in mid-air after a bomb threat last week. (Maksim Konstantinov/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images)
A flight carrying Zimbabwe's president Emmerson Mnangagwa to Victoria Falls turned around in mid-air after a bomb threat last week. (Maksim Konstantinov/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images)
  • Cuan Reed Govender from Durban was arrested and appeared in a court in Harare, Zimbabwe.
  • The State will seek to prove he is linked to the bomb threat email sent to Fast Jet on Friday, affecting President Emmerson Mnangagwa, among others. 
  • Zimbabwean airports remain on a high-security alert.

A man from Durban has been detained in Zimbabwe for alleged links to last week's bomb threat at Victoria Falls International Airport.

Presidential spokesperson George Charamba said in a statement: "Our security services have traced the so-called John Doe to one Cuan Reed Govender.

"In the interests of ongoing operations, we leave it at that for now. We thank Zimbabweans for remaining calm while operations are under way."

The 26-year-old Govender was arrested on Sunday at the Robert Mugabe International Airport on his way to South Africa, the government said.

He did not make the flight after scanners at the airport detected five bullets in his luggage.

READ | Bomb threat sees Zimbabwe's Mnangagwa make mid-air U-turn en route to Victoria Falls

Govender arrived in Zimbabwe on 26 February on a business trip.

He appeared in court on Monday without a lawyer and will appear again on Tuesday before Harare magistrate Sharon Rakafa.

The email threat claimed terrorists at Victoria Falls were preparing to attack air traffic.

Due to the security alert, Zimbabwean President Emmerson Mnangagwa, aboard his Falcon 7X, made a mid-air U-turn back to Harare.

Tight security

Mnangagwa later travelled to Victoria Falls to address the opening of the 56th UN Economic Commission for Africa.

Security was on high alert at Victoria Falls.

According to a notice from the Airports Company of Zimbabwe, only airport staff and those travelling were allowed to enter the terminal.

The drop-off point to the international terminal was sealed off and a secondary screening process was introduced at the boarding gate.

Only after the search can luggage be shrink-wrapped.

With an increased police and army presence, they also physically checked all luggage that went through the scanner.


The News24 Africa Desk is supported by the Hanns Seidel Foundation. The stories produced through the Africa Desk and the opinions and statements that may be contained herein do not reflect those of the Hanns Seidel Foundation.

We live in a world where facts and fiction get blurred
Who we choose to trust can have a profound impact on our lives. Join thousands of devoted South Africans who look to News24 to bring them news they can trust every day. As we celebrate 25 years, become a News24 subscriber as we strive to keep you informed, inspired and empowered.
Join News24 today
heading
description
username
Show Comments ()
Voting Booth
Should the Proteas pick Faf du Plessis for the T20 World Cup in West Indies and the United States in June?
Please select an option Oops! Something went wrong, please try again later.
Results
Yes! Faf still has a lot to give ...
67% - 1070 votes
No! It's time to move on ...
33% - 518 votes
Vote
Rand - Dollar
18.76
+1.4%
Rand - Pound
23.43
+0.3%
Rand - Euro
20.08
+0.2%
Rand - Aus dollar
12.25
+0.3%
Rand - Yen
0.12
+0.2%
Platinum
924.10
-0.0%
Palladium
959.00
+0.1%
Gold
2,337.68
0.0%
Silver
27.19
-0.0%
Brent Crude
89.50
+0.6%
Top 40
69,358
+1.3%
All Share
75,371
+1.4%
Resource 10
62,363
+0.4%
Industrial 25
103,903
+1.3%
Financial 15
16,161
+2.2%
All JSE data delayed by at least 15 minutes Iress logo
Editorial feedback and complaints

Contact the public editor with feedback for our journalists, complaints, queries or suggestions about articles on News24.

LEARN MORE