A Harare car dealer allegedly stormed into State House, claiming he was seeking President Emmerson Mnangagwa’s protection from suspected killers who were following him.
Isaac Mugwagwa appeared at the Harare magistrates’ court facing charges of trespassing, with the state consenting to bail.
Mugwagwa is employed by Rhodes Car Sale, situated at the corner of 9th Street and Central Avenue in Harare.
According to the state, on March 28 at around 3.30am, Mugwagwa was arrested at State House after encroaching into the guardroom, a restricted area.
He allegedly became violent and grabbed Anthony Ngovera, a soldier on duty, demanding that Mnangagwa help him because people were trying to kill him.
He was reportedly chased away, but refused to leave the State House precincts, insisting on seeing the president, leading to his arrest by police.
Mugwagwa remains in custody and is back in court on Monday. Trespassing incidents at State House are not new, with security at the presidential residence being a long-standing and sensitive issue.
Both during the late President Robert Mugabe’s tenure and under Mnangagwa, the premises have seen various security breaches despite tight security.
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In 2017, a South African professional hunter, Adriaan Olivier, was arrested and fined US$150 for driving through a barricaded section of State House at around 3am.
In 2024, a Harare man named Felix Togaraseyi Magureyi was arrested twice in the same year for trespassing at State House.
In May 2024, he demanded to see the president, claiming Mnangagwa was his father, and was found with a sjambok and a toy firearm in his vehicle. He attempted a similar invasion in December of that year.
In January 2025, a police officer suspected of having mental health issues drove his vehicle into the State House grounds and refused to leave until he saw the president.
