Zimbabwean President Emmerson Mnangagwa has fired his Deputy Information Minister, Energy Mutodi, following a number of tweets that left the government distancing themselves from.
President @edmnangagwa has terminated employment of Dr Energy Mutodi @energymutodi as Deputy Minister of Information, Publicity and Broadcasting Services. pic.twitter.com/1gqXbRWK8p
— Ministry of Information and Publicity Zimbabwe (@MinOfInfoZW) May 20, 2020
The termination is with immediate effect, but the public notice does not detail the reasons for the firing.
Mutodi’s latest tweets dismissed the veracity of the abduction of three female opposition members last week.
The trio was allegedly abducted and brutalised by police for staging a protest against food insecurity in the country.
This discord between government and Mutodi had been slowly building.
But, it seems his utterances to the recent abduction scandal may have been the straw that broke the camel’s back.
The former deputy Minister tweeted that the three women – one of which is a member of parliament – had actually been taken by men over payment on a sex transaction.
Mutodi had also criticised Tanzanian President John Magafuli’s response to the COVID-19 response.
I’ve just awakened to the news of Energy Mutodi getting fired.He is by far the most incompetent minister in the history of our country.I think If he doesn’t focus on music he will go down as the worst musician this country has ever seen.
The whole system needs to be uninstalled.
— Richard Tsvangirayi (@RTsvangirayi) May 21, 2020
