Harare – 6 April 2025
By Farai D Hove | In a stunning climbdown, economist and former presidential advisor Eddie Cross has issued a formal apology to President Emmerson Mnangagwa after previously accusing the First Family of grand-scale corruption. Cross, who is also the author of Mnangagwa’s official biography, now says he cannot substantiate the claims he made in a televised interview last week.
In his statement dated 5 April, Cross admitted:
“I recognised that I should not have involved his family, and I apologized unreservedly… I outlined what I was hearing but could not provide firm evidence to support these allegations and rumors. I again apologized and said I would withdraw my statement on this matter.”
However, Cross did not address the glaring contradictions he himself once published regarding Mnangagwa’s Rhodesian-era arrest story—claims that undermined the very basis of the President’s liberation war credentials. The omission has fuelled backlash, with several prominent Zimbabweans accusing Cross of hypocrisy, dishonesty, and selective contrition.
REAL REACTIONS FROM PUBLIC FIGURES:
Hon. Job Sikhala, opposition politician and former political prisoner, blasted Cross for abandoning principle under pressure:
“You called me names when I was persecuted under incarceration by these people calling me a street kid, Eddie Cross. Vazokupinza busy ka Eddie. That’s what happens in life if you don’t know!!!”
Charlton Hwende, Member of Parliament and Citizens Coalition for Change official, questioned Cross’s credibility altogether:
“Eddie Cross uyu akamboita kuti ndi dzingwe mu party after he lied during a NEC meeting that he saw me driving a truck full of youths that assaulted Hon Khupe in Bulawayo. That time I was actually in Namibia… Cross apologized for lying.”
Dr. Walter Mzembi, former cabinet minister, added that Cross had long played a divisive role:
“Mr President @edmnangagwa, Eddie Cross set us on an irrevocable collision course with you to this day, when he addressed Cape Town Press Club, six years ago and made this treasonous…”
Victor Moyo, a social commentator, kept it blunt:
“Azvipinza busy iye ega Eddie Cross wacho.”
(“Eddie Cross brought this mess upon himself.”)
@merrimen_jam, in a widely liked tweet, condemned Cross’s moral compromise:
“Hypocrisy is the lowest form of uselessness that a man can do. There is a huge price to pay for choosing wrong sides in times of great moral conflict… I hope they fry him.”
Despite the apology, many view Cross’s retreat as a cautionary tale of what happens when public figures speak out—and then backpedal—under political heat. Calls are now growing for him to publicly clarify all his previous claims, including the highly contested liberation war narrative he once discredited.
