HARARE – A multi-agency investigation has been initiated after pilots flying President Emmerson Mnangagwa were allegedly targeted with ground lasers while approaching Robert Gabriel Mugabe International Airport, ZimLive has learned.
The incident reportedly took place just before 7 PM on July 12 as the president returned from a trip to Mozambique aboard an Air Zimbabwe Boeing 737.
According to sources, the pilots reported being blinded by laser-like lights during their approach to the airport.
Authorities are treating the incident “very seriously” and have launched a multi-agency probe involving the Civil Aviation Authority of Zimbabwe, the Air Force of Zimbabwe, police, and intelligence services.
Presidency spokesman George Charamba declined to discuss the exact nature of the threat, stating that doing so would “jeopardise investigations currently underway.”
“I can confirm the incident which has affected or menaced many other airports, foremost Gatwick in England. The misdemeanour has to be nipped in the bud,” Charamba said.
Investigators are also looking into whether there is a connection to recent unsolved break-ins at the private homes of the president; his son, David, and the offices of his nephew, Tongai Mnangagwa, during which nothing of value was stolen.
Shining a laser at airplanes, known as a laser strike, is widespread in Europe and the United States but there have been no previously disclosed incidents in Zimbabwe.
High-powered lasers can interfere with pilots, causing distraction, disorientation, or even temporary blindness during critical phases of flight. The United States Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), in a report released in January this year, stated that the highest number of laser strikes occur at low altitudes and at night when pilots are busy with take-off or landing procedures.
In 2023, there were 9,652 laser incidents below 10,000 feet, according to the FAA.
In the United Kingdom, where penalties for offenders can result in five-year jail sentences, just over 1,000 laser strikes were recorded, according to the British Airline Pilots Association.
Although there are no known airplane crashes caused by laser strikes, they can have medical consequences for pilots who are required for safety and health reasons to undergo an ophthalmology evaluation and take medical leave after such incidents.
Mnangagwa is currently in his second and final five-year term as president. However, his loyalists want him to stay on at least until 2030, which legal experts say would be unconstitutional.
Mnangagwa maintains that he will retire when his term ends in 2028, but many are unconvinced, citing his reluctance to quash the growing lobby among his supporters.
The uncertainty is reportedly causing consternation in Zanu PF, especially among supporters of his deputy Constantino Chiwenga, seen as his likely successor.
-ZimLive