What should foreign nationals in Zim do and avoid during the ongoing “coup”?
If it walks like a coup and quacks like a coup? With the Zimbabwe coup now well underway, we look at advice for foreign nationals.
It started with tans being spotted on their way to the capital on Tuesday afternoon. The tanks headed to the presidential compound and everyone had the same though: “are we about to see a coup in Zimbabwe?”
Fast forward to Wednesday morning and the world is watching a full-on takeover in the country. The military says they have seized control of the country but deny that a coup is taking place.
Zimbabwe live updates: Police detained as military control continues
President Robert Mugabe and his wife Grace have been detained. Multiple other Mugabe backing cabinet ministers have been arrested and the military has also taken control of the state broadcaster.
Read: Zimbabwe’s state channels are now only broadcasting one thing repeatedly
While Robert is said to be negotiating for Grace to leave the country, British nationals have been warned to stay off the streets.
The Foreign and Commonwealth Office in the UK updated their travel advice to all foreigners in the country on Wednesday morning.
“Due to the uncertain political situation in Harare, including reports of unusual military activity, we recommend British nationals currently in Harare to remain safely at home or in their accommodation until the situation becomes clearer. Please continue to monitor our travel advice and embassy social media accounts for updates.”
The office has also called for people to avoid anything remotely political.
“You should avoid political activity, or activities that could be considered political, including political discussions in public places and criticism of the president. You should avoid all demonstrations and rallies. The authorities have sometimes used force to suppress demonstrations.”
While the entire world sits and watches the situation unfold in Zimbabwe, the state media in the country has been making some very interesting calls. There might not be too much on Zimbabwe’s state media platforms right now, but what is there is very symbolic. You can read more about that here.
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