Jonathan Moyo, a former Zimbabwe minister and called fugitive of law as per the moment, has finally revealed how he managed to escape from Zimbabwe, to a destination that is still unknown.
During an interview with BBC’s Zeinab Badawi on HARDtalk yesterday, though from an unknown source, Moyo said he was alerted earlier on about the military’s strike during Operation Restore Legacy, prompting him to seek refuge at his former Cabinet colleague and G40 ally Saviour Kasukuwere’s house.
Since the ouster of the former Zimbabwe President, Robert Mugabe, Jonathan Moyo, he who is wanted by Emmerson Mnangagwa’s government to face the law over his crimes, his whereabouts have remained unclear, from how he exited the country to which country is hosting him at the moment.
In his interview, Moyo explained that he has no interest of returning to Zimbabwe under Mnangagwa’s rule.
‘On that day, the military specifically targeted my house and myself with a clear intention to cause harm and that is why I am not in the country, although I left legally,’ Moyo explained.
‘I am not at liberty to disclose my whereabouts because they have shown a very clear and determined intention to find me and harm me wherever I am.’
‘On the morning of November 15, around 2:30am Zimbabwean time, between 15 to 25 heavily-armed SAS (Special Air Service) soldiers came to my residence and they destroyed the gate and entrance to my house and shot their way into every room looking for me, but fortunately they didn’t find me and none of the members of my family were there because I had been forewarned the previous night that I should not spend the night at my house and that I should take every member of my family with me out of the house,’ he added.
Moyo further said that his house was attacked almost the same time as Saviour Kasukuwere’s, illustrating that they were targeted.
‘When they came to attack Saviour Kasukuwere’s house about 2:30am on November 15, they subjected it to some 15 minutes of gunfire,’ he narrated.
‘Amazingly after 15 minutes they had surrounded the house and the sounds of gunfire just went silent and we waited there for about 10 minutes and there was no movement or sign of any presence of these Special Forces that had surrounded the house.’
Moyo said they managed to get out of the house and embarked on a journey to leave Zimbabwe “legally”.
The former minister informed that he had been helped by angels to exit Zimbabwe to reach a destination where he is now. He also said that by the time he left from the country, Robert Mugabe was still the President.
‘I left Zimbabwe with the help of people, who to me are angels, because they saved our lives and I am not at liberty to say who helped me, how they helped me and how I left Zimbabwe except to say I left Zimbabwe when President Mugabe was President of the country and I left with the assistance of these people legally,’ he said.
‘I managed to escape the net of the military people and to be where I am legally.’
Moyo called upon the international law to apply and protect him from harassment and harm from the Zimbabwe army, as he left without a warrant of arrest against him.
Zimbabwe earlier had suspicions of Moyo being in Kenya, but he recently tweeted that he was not in the East African country, but on tweeter.
The former minister is also wanted by the government of Kenya over a fraud case that he committed in 2000 and fled from the country with it unsettled.
Reporter: Shamilah Namuddu
