LONDON,
United
Kingdom
–
Zimbabwe’s
first
lady
Auxillia
Mnangagwa
was
a
no-show
at
the
First
Ladies
of
Africa
Impact
and
Resilience
(FLAIR)
summit
in
London
on
Tuesday
where
protesters
had
gathered
to
denounce
her
attendance
over
alleged
rights
abuses
and
corruption.
She
had
been
advertised
as
a
speaker
at
the
two-day
event
being
held
at
the
Royal
Leonardo
Hotel
in
Tower
Bridge,
London,
from
June
17
to
18.
Instead
of
flying
out
to
London,
the
first
lady
went
to
Dubai
two
days
early
for
the
Merck
Foundation’s
First
Ladies
Initiative
Summit
being
held
from
June
18
to
19.
The
Standard
newspaper
reported
last
Sunday
that
the
withdrawal
of
Labour
MP
Dawn
Butler
from
the
London
event
had
triggered
a
crisis
meeting
among
organisers
where
a
decision
was
made
to
rescind
Auxillia’s
invitation.
Presidency
spokesman
George
Charamba
suggested
it
was
her
decision
to
cancel
the
UK
trip
because
“her
plate
is
full”
with
other
engagements.
“You
can
be
invited,
but
you
can
also
turn
down
an
invite,”
Charamba
said.
Protesters
who
gathered
outside
the
hotel
held
banners
denouncing
human
rights
violations
by
the
government
of
President
Emmerson
Mnangagwa.
“Zanu
PF
regime
stop
abductions,
persecution,
corruption,
brutality
and
human
rights
violations,”
read
one
banner.
Another
banner
referred
to
her
as
“First
lady
of
injustice”
while
another
said:
“FLAIR
summit
don’t
normalise
oppression.”
Activist
Dickson
Chikwizo,
who
took
part
in
the
protest,
said
it
had
been
a
success.
“We
peacefully
protested
against
the
attendance
of
Auxillia
Mnangagwa
at
the
FLAIR
Summit.
She
failed
to
turn
up,
and
our
mission
was
accomplished,”
Chikwizo
said.
The
activists
had
also
delivered
a
petition
at
10
Downing
Street,
the
Prime
Minister’s
office,
urging
the
UK
government
not
to
grant
her
a
visa.