MNANGAGWA’S HELICOPTER CRASH EXPOSES THE CRACKS IN ZIMBABWE’S POWER STRUCTURE

A helicopter meant to transport President Emmerson Mnangagwa back to Harare after his 82nd birthday celebrations crash-landed shortly after take-off at Masvingo Airport. Although the President was not on board at the time, the incident has sparked renewed concerns about the safety, preparedness, and priorities of Zimbabwe’s top leadership. Once again, Zimbabweans are left questioning whether the nation’s resources are being used responsibly, or if vanity and ego have taken center stage.

The President had traveled to Masvingo to celebrate his birthday and preside over the launch of a new national holiday — Munhumutapa Day — named and timed to honor none other than himself. This event was hosted at the iconic Great Zimbabwe Monuments, a sacred site that should symbolize national pride and unity, not serve as a political stage for personal glorification. Instead of a people-centered celebration, the state turned it into a spectacle of self-worship.

After the festivities, the helicopter that was supposed to pick up Mnangagwa from Bikita — his so-called ancestral home — failed shortly after take-off. The crash happened at Masvingo Airport, just three kilometers from town. The aircraft had only three crew members on board, and while one sustained injuries, there were no fatalities. Early media reports falsely claimed that Vice-Presidents were aboard, but it was later confirmed that only Kembo Mohadi attended the birthday event, while Constantino Chiwenga was notably absent.

Sources close to the incident revealed that two helicopters were assigned for the President’s movement, and the one that crashed suffered a sudden technical failure. It hit the ground with great force, rattling the security establishment and drawing attention to yet another incident involving presidential aircraft.

This is not the first time Mnangagwa’s fleet has made headlines. In August 2021, a presidential helicopter was forced into an emergency landing while flying from Mnangagwa’s Precabe Farm in Sherwood, Kwekwe. That helicopter had to land unexpectedly at a farm owned by a Finance Ministry official. The aftermath saw a security shake-up and a journalist hunted down for daring to report the truth. This pattern of suppressing information is not new — state security agents have consistently acted as enforcers of silence, rather than guardians of transparency.

Despite the gravity of the recent crash, the President’s communication team has remained silent. No statement had been released by last night. In any functioning democracy, an incident involving the head of state’s aircraft would prompt an immediate and detailed response. But in Zimbabwe, the silence is deafening, and the lack of accountability is routine.

The introduction of Munhumutapa Day — a holiday built around glorifying Mnangagwa’s legacy — is both bizarre and alarming. With Zimbabwe battling economic turmoil, unemployment, and healthcare collapse, the declaration of a new public holiday to honor one man reflects a grotesque misplacement of priorities. Instead of addressing the urgent needs of citizens, the regime invests in self-celebration.

Mnangagwa’s symbolic trip to Bikita, where his father Mafidi is buried, was supposed to cement his ties to the people. But the helicopter crash has done more to expose the fragility of his rule than strengthen it. Whether Bikita is truly his birthplace or part of the crafted mythology surrounding him, the effort to build a legacy based on personal glorification is becoming harder to sustain in the face of repeated failures.

The crash may not have claimed lives, but it is yet another metaphor for a government that is running on broken machinery — technically, politically, and morally. The public will be forced to mark Munhumutapa Day, but they will do so under the shadow of a system that continues to crash under the weight of its own lies.