By Tatenda Chitagu

A viral message on 30 December claimed President Emmerson Mnangagwa was assassinated by gunmen in army regalia that forced entry into state house

The message went viral on social media platforms, especially on New Year’s Eve, to such an extent that Zimbabweans in the diaspora and other journalists from neighbouring countries enquired early Tuesday morning to check if it was true.

Social media platform, WhatsApp, marked the message ‘forwarded many times’, showing that it had been widely circulated.

This prompted ZimTracker to fact check the claims.

Headlined, ‘Breaking News: Gunmen Loyal to Chiwenga Invade Statehouse, Assassinate President Mnangagwa,’ the ‘story,’ that made rounds on several WhatsApp groups, reads;

“In an unprecedented and shocking turn of events, armed gunmen believed to be loyal to Vice President Constantine Chiwenga have reportedly stormed the state house in Harare. Eyewitness accounts describe a scene of chaos as gunfire erupted within the presidential residence, leading to the immediate death of President Emmerson Mnangagwa.

“According to unconfirmed reports, the assailants, wearing military uniforms and brandishing automatic weapons, bypassed security measures and made their way directly to the president’s office. The attack is said to have occurred during a high level meeting, catching many by surprise.

“Local residents near the State House reported hearing multiple rounds of gunfire and explosions, followed by the sound of sirens as emergency services rushed to the scene. The area has been sealed off by military personnel, with helicopters seen circling overhead.

“No official statement has been released.”

Verdict:

The news is totally untrue.

To start with, the absence of official voices in the ‘story’ betrays that it is not genuine as no serious media organisation would have such an oversight on such kind of a sensitive story.

A parody ZBC Facebook account was used alongside an Artificial Intelligence (AI) generated image, showing Mnangagwa supposedly lying on the ground with his trademark yellow scarf and some blood stains.

The caption on the ZBC parody account reads, ‘Congratulations Zimbabwe’.

The ZBC, as a state run family broadcaster, would not run such a story with such a caption, ‘Congratulations Zimbabwe.’ Again, ZBC would not broadcast such a picture, if at all it was true.

All these are red flags that, before even further verifying the ‘story’, shows it’s a deepfake.

Upon further fact-checking, no meeting ever took place on the supposed day as the presidency, in a statement, announced that Mnangagwa was on his annual leave and had left Vice President Kembo Mohadi in charge. Therefore, there was no such meeting in the first place.

ZimTracker Comment:

This false information is following a sad trend in the country during the tenure of late former President Robert Mugabe where at the start of each year he would be said to be dead.

Following the annual start-of-the-year false information, Mugabe later boasted that he had beat Jesus by resurrecting several times.

“”I have died many times – that’s where I have beaten Christ. Christ died once and resurrected once,” Mugabe told state broadcaster ZBC in an interview on his 88^th birthday in 2012.