HARARE – President Emmerson Mnangagwa left Harare on Tuesday for a three-day state visit to Equatorial Guinea, where he is scheduled to meet with fellow dictator Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo.
Several ministers, businesspeople, and other dignitaries accompanied Mnangagwa who has developed a culture of scheduling pettifog trips around the world to meet undemocratic compatriots.
“President Emmerson Mnangagwa has left for a State Visit to Equatorial Guinea. This follows the re-election of that country’s President Theodore Mbasogo in November 2022,” information ministry secretary Nick Mangwana said.
“In the absence of his Excellency who has travelled outside the country, Vice President Constantino Chiwenga is the acting president,” he added.
According to reports, Mnangagwa was also accompanied by his son Emmerson Junior and controversial businessman Kuda Tagwirei for the trip to meet President Mbasongo.
Mbasogo, the 80-year-old leader of Equatorial Guinea, has been in power for more than 43 years. He just won reelection for a sixth seven-year term, setting a global record for the longest reign of any living head of state other than monarchs.
According to the World Bank’s statistics for 2021, Equatorial Guinea has the third-highest GDP per capita in sub-Saharan Africa. In terms of Transparency International’s corruption barometer, it is 172 out of 180 nations.
