Staff Reporter | A hoax news article generated by an online publication onetainment.com claiming that President Robert Mugabe has called for the arrest of all Zimbabwean Rio Olympiads has attracted huge attention and condemnation from people across the globe.
The article titled “Mugabe calls for the arrest of Zimbabwean Olympic team” claims that Mugabe instructed Police Commissioner Augustine Chihuri to arrest all the 31 Zimbabwean athletes for failing to bring and medals and wasting state resources.
The article attracts the ire of the world when it quotes Mugabe as having described the athletes as rats who failed to achieve even copper and brass positions (4th and 5th finish).
The best position a Zimbabwean athlete got close to a medal was an 8th position finish.
“We have wasted the country’s money on these rats we call athletes. If you are not ready to sacrifice and win even copper or brass medals as our neighbours Botswana did, then why do you go to waste our money” Mugabe is quoted as having said.
”If we needed people to just go to Brazil to sing our national anthem and hoist our flag, we would have sent some of the beautiful girls and handsome guys from University of Zimbabwe to represent us.”
“This situation is like an impotent man who is married to five women, what is the essence? I will make sure we share the cost across board for all of them to pay back to government chest even if it takes 10 years to recoup, now it turns out to be a soft loan we have given them to go and visit Brazil as tourist, they are useless” Mugabe is quoted in the article.
The story has attracted a huge read throughout the world with some reputable media like the BBC Africa and Indian Times also picking up the story and running it.
Prominent South African media personality Masetshaba Motsepe also picked up the story which she shared and immediately found the story being run by some South African radio stations including South Africa Broadcasting Corporation SAFM.
A Nigerian daily picked up the story and further described Mugabe as Nebuchadnezzar for his hard hand on Zimbabwean citizens.
Efforts to get a comment from Presidential spokesperson George Charamba on the issue failed as he was said not to have got to the office at the time of writing.