A bomb threat led to the closure of Zimbabwe’s Victoria Falls airport on Friday, forcing the country’s president to cancel a planned speech at a renewable energy conference, an official said.
Zimbabwean President Emmerson Mnangagwa was scheduled to address the conference in the morning, but “had to suspend his trip to allow investigations which are already underway”declared presidential spokesperson George Charamba.
Authorities were unable to confirm local media reports that the president’s plane had made a U-turn on his way to the conference.
Mr Charamba said airport authorities had been informed by Fastjet airline of an email sent “by a stranger” reporting a “credible bomb or gun threat” targeting Zimbabwe airports.
Security systems are “now on heightened alert”said Mr. Charamba, who urged the population to remain calm while investigations continue.
“Although our country is peaceful and all our entry points are well secured, such alerts regarding possible terrorist attacks are taken very seriously”he declared.
The Civil Aviation Authority of Zimbabwe a said the incident had forced some flights to divert or delay their landing, and that further disruptions were likely “to enable continuous monitoring of the environment”.
Although such incidents are unusual in the southern African country, a 2018 explosion in Zimbabwe’s second city, Bulawayokilled two people and injured about 50 others during a campaign rally before that year’s presidential election.
Mr Mnangagwa, who said the explosion occurred at “a few centimeters” from him, was not injured. But two vice presidents and other senior officials were injured, and two security officers died of their injuries. Two men arrested after the explosion were later released due to lack of evidence.
