THE upcoming First Ladies of African Impact and Resilience (FLAIR) Summit in London has sparked significant controversy due to the inclusion of Zimbabwe’s First Lady, Auxillia Mnangagwa, as a speaker and participant.
While the summit aims to promote women’s leadership and empowerment, Mnangagwa’s presence raises serious ethical and moral concerns. Her association with a regime accused of human rights abuses, corruption, and repression makes her participation incompatible with the summit’s stated values. Here’s why the UK should bar her from attending or at the very least, why her presence must be met with strong opposition.
Auxillia Mnangagwa is the wife of Zimbabwean President Emmerson Mnangagwa, whose government has been widely condemned for violent crackdowns on dissent, abductions, torture, and extrajudicial killings targeting opposition figures, journalists, and activists . Organizations like Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch* have documented these abuses, yet the Mnangagwa administration has faced no meaningful accountability.
By allowing Auxillia Mnangagwa to attend the summit, the UK risks legitimizing a regime that suppresses democracy and violates fundamental freedoms. Her presence would send a dangerous message that the international community is indifferent to Zimbabwe’s human rights crisis .
Beyond human rights violations, Auxillia Mnangagwa has been implicated in corruption scandals. Reports by The Sentry and other investigative bodies reveal how Zimbabwe’s ruling elite, including the Mnangagwa family, have siphoned state resources while ordinary
Zimbabweans suffer under hyperinflation, unemployment and collapsing public services. Wildlife Trafficking has allegedly taken control of Zimbabwe’s wildlife department, facilitating the illegal export of elephant and rhino trophies to China. She and her sons have been accused of capturing lithium and gold resources, exploiting them for personal gain while Zimbabwe’s economy crumbles.
Despite Zimbabwe’s economic crisis, the First Lady frequently travels abroad for medical treatment and luxury trips, while hospitals at home lack basic medicines.
Allowing her into the UK a global financial hub risks enabling further money laundering and legitimizing her ill-gotten wealth. The FLAIR Summit claims to champion female leadership and social impact, yet Auxillia Mnangagwa’s record shows no meaningful contribution to women’s rights in Zimbabwe. Her Angel of Hope Foundation is widely seen as a publicity stunt, failing to address critical issues like maternal mortality, child sexual abuse, and girls’ education.
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While Zimbabwean women struggle with food insecurity, gender-based violence, and lack of healthcare, she prioritizes lavish international trips over tangible domestic reforms .Her role in firing officials who opposed her corrupt activities (such as former Environment Minister, Stembiso Nyoni further exposes her abuse of power.
Inviting her to speak alongside genuine advocates for women’s rights such as Queen Diambi of Congo and Olory Atuwatse III of Warri State undermines the summit’s credibility. Some argue that barring Auxillia Mnangagwa could strain UK-Zimbabwe relations, but the UK has a moral duty to stand against repression. The UK has previously imposed sanctions on Zimbabwean officials for human rights abuses, and allowing her entry would contradict this stance.
Zimbabwean activists in the UK are already organizing demonstrations to challenge her presence and demand the release of jailed political activists.
UK lawmakers, including Lord Johnny Oates, have called for her to be confronted over her regime’s brutality.
Zimbabwe remains excluded from the Commonwealth due to its human rights record, her attendance would undermine efforts to hold the regime accountable.
The FLAIR Summit should be a platform for true leaders, not enablers of oppression. Auxillia Mnangagwa’s presence would whitewash her regime’s crimes* and insult the suffering of Zimbabweans. The UK must either bar her entry or ensure her participation is met with fierce resistance because empowerment cannot come from those who perpetuate oppression. No to Auxillia Mnangagwa at the Flair Summit.
- Henry Itayi Makambe is Zimbabwean based in the UK. He writes on his capacity.
