By Parliament Reporter-Heads are rolling at the Parliament of Zimbabwe and the Zimbabwe Electricity Transmission and Distribution Company (ZETDC) following last week’s unprecedented power outage during the presentation of the 2025 national budget.
The blackout occurred in the presence of President Emmerson Mnangagwa and has sparked investigations into a suspected coup plot against the head of state.
Sources close to the investigation said the state security is treating the incident as a potential security breach with far-reaching implications.
“This is the first time such an event has happened in the presence of the President. It poses a serious security risk, and someone must be held accountable,” a source from the President’s office at Munhumutapa Building revealed. “Authorities are also probing why the backup generator failed to activate automatically. These anomalies raise questions about deliberate sabotage.”
The power outage occurred as the President sat through Finance Minister Mthuli Ncube’s budget presentation.
Despite attempts to continue proceedings, the situation caused embarrassment to the government.
In a statement issued after the incident, Parliament attributed the blackout to thunderstorms and high winds, which reportedly disrupted the electricity supply.
However, scepticism remains within government and security circles about the explanation, particularly given the failure of auxiliary systems to mitigate the outage.
The incident has intensified whispers of internal power struggles within Zanu PF, where tensions have simmered for years between Mnangagwa and his deputy Constantino Chiwenga.
Allegations of assassination plots, coup attempts, and factional battles have plagued Mnangagwa’s presidency since his rise to power in 2017, following the Chiwenga led military intervention that ousted long-time leader Robert Mugabe.
Chiwenga, a key architect of the 2017 coup, has often been viewed as Mnangagwa’s most formidable rival within the ruling party.
Analysts speculate that the blackout could be the latest manoeuvre in a broader struggle for dominance within Zanu PF ahead of its elective congress to replace Mnaggawa.
State Security Minister Lovemore Matuke could not be reached for comment.