Harare– Government Dismisses Exiled Cleric’s Grave-Visit Plea as “Theatrics,” Says He Needs No Permit to Grieve

Information Permanent Secretary Nick Mangwana has dismissed as attention-seeking a tearful video by a Zimbabwean preacher pleading with the Government for permission to visit his family’s graves, insisting the cleric is free to return “as many times a year, or a day as his heart desires” without any government permit.

In a statement posted on X on Tuesday, Mangwana said the Government had “absolutely zero interest” in the unidentified member of the preaching fraternity, his “theatrics,” or his family’s graves, describing the video as a “social media pity party.”

“We have noted the rather dramatic, tear-stained video of a certain member of the preaching fraternity, who appears to be recording himself in a state of profound emotional distress to beg the Government for permission to visit his family’s graves,” Mangwana said.

He offered “the deepest condolences” but said the cleric “does not need a government permit for his grief, nor our blessing to stand by a tombstone.”

Mangwana accused the preacher of villainizing the Government to gain “street creds” and of “playing the victim” to “farm sympathy and clicks for those desperately seeking attention,” adding: “Using your deceased relatives as props for a social media pity party is a new low, even for the pulpit.”

The statement did not name the preacher or clarify whether he faces any legal restrictions on returning to Zimbabwe. The Government’s position that no permit is required appears to contradict the premise of the cleric’s appeal, which implied he needed official clearance to visit the graves.

Critics have long accused Harare of using travel restrictions and criminal charges to pressure exiled government opponents and critics, though Mangwana’s statement sought to distance the State from the clergyman’s case entirely.

“We are entirely unbothered,” he said.