During his State of the Union address on Tuesday, Zimbabwean President Emmerson Mnangagwa was interrupted by a power outage, forcing him to continue speaking using only a flashlight.
Mnangagwa was addressing attendees from the new parliamentary building located in Mount Hampden, about 24 miles northwest of Harare. This large new complex was established with Chinese assistance at a cost of around $200 million in 2022.
Power outages, unfortunately, are fairly common in Zimbabwe, where only about one in seven people have a reliable electricity supply. As a result, many citizens are turning to alternatives, like solar panels, to rely less on the strained grid.
Even this new parliament building, expected to symbolize progress, frequently experiences outages. In fact, a similar blackout occurred during the finance minister’s 2025 budget presentation.
The situation during Mnangagwa’s speech was particularly embarrassing as the government had anticipated potential power failures and installed a gas generator for the occasion. However, it seems a circuit breaker tripped, affecting power to the generators.
While power cuts in Zimbabwe can extend for hours, the interruption during Mnangagwa’s speech lasted about 10 minutes.
Journalist Hopewell Chin’ono remarked on the incident, describing Mnangagwa speaking in the dark as a “tragic symbol of corruption” and likening the president to “a schoolboy caught doing his homework during a power outage.”
“It’s just disheartening. This encapsulates what Zimbabwe has become. A government that claims to be building the nation can’t even keep the lights on during its most important events,” Chin’ono commented with a sense of frustration.
Since taking power in 2017 following the ousting of long-time dictator Robert Mugabe through a soft military coup, Mnangagwa has been in office. Recently, the ruling ZANU-PF party made the controversial decision to extend his term until 2030. Many are worried this might lead to him seeking an unconstitutional third term or refusing to leave office altogether.
On Wednesday, Abel Gulpira, the acting director of the Zimbabwe Electricity Transmission and Distribution Company (ZETDC), was suspended by the Ministry of National Power, pending an investigation into the outage.
The Speaker of Parliament, Jacob Mudenda, expressed concern over the disruption during Mnangagwa’s speech. He indicated that there would be thorough follow-up actions to ensure accountability, stating, “We will pursue the culprits and they will deeply regret their actions.”
