Report: Emmerson Mnangagwa sacks dozens of Robert Mugabe workers

President Emmerson Mnangagwa’s government has sacked dozens of workers paid by the government to work on Robert Mugabe’s private properties in another setback for the former Zimbabwean president, a newspaper said Friday.

Those affected were working at Mugabe’s rural homestead in Zvimba and his Highfield farm, west of Harare.


Mugabe’s relatives affected

Mugabe’s relatives were among those who lost jobs at the Zvimba homestead, the Zimbabwe Independent reports.

“The same applies to labourers at his Highfield farm. They were also fired from their jobs,” an unnamed government official told the paper.

Highfield farm is understood to be one farm that Mugabe bought commercially. He is said to have acquired up to 20 other farms under Zimbabwe’s land reform programme though he denies this.

In January, Mugabe’s wife Grace was reported to have lost the security team she had as first lady, though Mugabe has been given a generous retirement package that includes a large domestic staff, cars and overseas trips.

‘Silly questions’

In the first press conference given since he left office in November Mugabe on Thursday complained that some of his staff were being harassed by state agents loyal to Mnangagwa. He said they had been “called one by one to be asked very silly questions”.

Earlier this month some security officers at his Harare mansion were allegedly interrogated at a military barracks and plied with questions after Mugabe hosted one of his former cabinet ministers turned opposition leader, Ambrose Mutinhiri.