Mugabe misses diamond loss parliament hearing

Jekesai Njikizana | AFP | Getty Images

A private security employee guards a diamond processing plant in Zimbabwe’s eastern Marange region on December 14, 2011.

Former Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe failed to attend a parliamentary hearing on Wednesday that is investigating his claim that $15 billion of the country’s diamond wealth is missing.

Temba Mliswa, the Zimbabwean lawmaker leading the inquiry, tweeted later on Wednesday that, “We’ve considered that 9 a.m. may be rather early for Mr. Mugabe to appear,” adding that the investigatory body had written to the former leader asking him to appear on May 28 at 2 p.m. instead.

Mugabe’s appearance in front of lawmakers has been postponed multiple times, and would mark his first public appearance since losing power in a coup in November last year. His then-deputy Emmerson Mnangagwa has since become president of Zimbabwe. Mugabe, 94, is understood to be in frail health.

“This isn’t a witch hunt or to seek to cause embarrassment,” Mlisawa wrote. He described the summons as a “quest for answers,” adding that “We remain respectful whilst we exhaust all options.”

The inquiry reflects a claim made by Mugabe in 2016 that Zimbabwe has lost $15 billion in diamond revenue. Mugabe blamed corruption and foreign involvement for this. But, he has since dismissed the figure as “urban legend.”