NO RED CARPET FOR AUXILLIA: ZIMBABWEANS IN THE UK RISE AGAINST DICTATORSHIP

On the 17th of June 2025, Zimbabweans in the UK will gather in protest outside The Leonardo Royal Hotel in London, where Auxillia Mnangagwa is expected to attend the FLAIR Summit. We will stand united from 10am to 4pm to make it clear: she is not welcome here. As a political activist based in the UK and a Zimbabwean by birth and identity, I join this demonstration not just as an act of resistance—but as a moral duty to expose the truth and defend the suffering voices back home.

Auxillia Mnangagwa is not just a First Lady. She is part of a regime that has destroyed our country’s healthcare, denied people their basic rights, and turned Zimbabwe into a country where fear, poverty and injustice are normal. While she enjoys international platforms and photo opportunities, women are dying in Zimbabwe due to lack of basic maternal care. Hospitals are crumbling. Clinics have no medicine. Nurses are leaving in droves. Meanwhile, the rich and powerful fly out for treatment. It is a cruel betrayal.

This is why we are saying No to her attendance at FLAIR.

She wants to speak about leadership, health, and empowerment? What moral ground does she stand on? In Zimbabwe, she has not answered for the deepening crisis in hospitals. She has said nothing about the rise in abductions, political persecution, and the arbitrary arrests of activists, journalists, and even opposition leaders. These are not just “issues”—they are human tragedies.

Auxillia Mnangagwa is answerable for her silence in the face of injustice. As the wife of President Emmerson Mnangagwa, her voice carries weight—but she has chosen to ignore the suffering of the people in favour of praise-singing and public relations.

Let us be clear. This demonstration is not about hate. It is about accountability. Auxillia cannot come to a country like the UK—where rights and freedoms are respected—and act like a champion of health and development, while back home, her government is closing the space for democracy and arresting people for simply speaking out.

The people of Zimbabwe are not fools. We see through the PR stunts and choreographed speeches. We know that lives are being lost because of corruption and bad governance. We know that many mothers are dying giving birth because there are no nurses, no ambulances, and no supplies.

On 17 June, we rise in protest. We call on the FLAIR Summit organisers to reconsider her presence. Hosting Auxillia Mnangagwa is an insult to every Zimbabwean suffering back home. It is a slap in the face to those who have lost loved ones in public hospitals. It is a betrayal to those sitting in prison cells for crimes they did not commit—only because they dared to speak truth to power.

We are not silent. We are not afraid. The world must hear us.

Our message is simple: fix the health system. Stop corruption. End abductions and torture. Respect human rights. Auxillia Mnangagwa cannot pretend to care about any of these things when she has ignored them in Zimbabwe.

Let this demonstration be a turning point. Let it remind every dictator and every enabler that the people are watching. That Zimbabweans, even in the diaspora, are not giving up. That we will protest, we will speak, and we will expose the lies.

No red carpet for tyranny. Not in London. Not anywhere.