By Paul Nyathi|YOUTH, Sport, Arts and Recreation Minister Kirsty Leigh Coventry has denied media reports that she was resigning as government Minister in protest against the government’s handling of protests that occurred across Zimbabwe on Monday.

“It’s fake news,” she said.

Besides being minister, Coventry is a member of the ANOCA Athlete’s Commission, Vice-President of the Zimbabwe Olympic Committee, provides coaching and swimming lessons at her non-profit organization, the Kirsty Coventry Academy, and has recently launched a program for low-income and underserved areas – HEROES: Empowering children through sport.

Coventry won gold medals in the 200-meter backstroke at the 2004 and 2008 Olympics and also has four silvers and a bronze, the most Olympic medals by an African athlete. She shares the record of most individual medals by a female swimmer at the Olympics with Krisztina Egerszegi of Hungary.

A sensational social media message has been circulating since Wednesday morning alleging that Kirsty Coventry has resigned after government used state machinery to kill over ten people in a citizens protests that rocked Zimbabwe in the past three days.

The message quoted her claiming there is a statement by her which says so. It read:

“Weldone Kirsty. An honest woman of integrity

ZimEye telephoned Coventry several times between 8am and 12 noon Thursday. Although her voice was inaudible, ZimEye established that there was no such statement from or by her saying that she has resigned. A source told ZimEye that Coventry was however under public pressure to resign following the several shootings of civilians by the military since Monday this week. ZimEye will continue to telephone her and update our viewers readers and listeners.