Statement of Protest Against the Invitation of Auxillia Mnangagwa to the FLAIR Meeting in London
17th and 18th June 2025 Leonardo Royal Hotel, 45 Prescot Street, London, E1 8GP
As concerned Zimbabwean women in the diaspora, we strongly condemn the invitation of Auxillia Mnangagwa to the FLAIR Meeting in London. Her presence at an event meant to empower and uplift women is a direct insult to the suffering of countless women in Zimbabwe – suffering that she has consistently ignored, enabled, or turned a blind eye to.
Auxillia Mnangagwa, as the self-proclaimed "mother of the nation", has failed in her moral and civic duty to stand with women.
One glaring example is the inhumane treatment of Mary Chiwenga (Mubaiwa), the estranged wife of Vice President Constantino Chiwenga. Mary was denied access to medical treatment abroad after her passport was confiscated by the state. Auxillia remained silent during Mary’s ordeal – an ordeal that ended in her losing a limb and being separated from her biological children.
How can someone who dines and smiles with Chiwenga, while ignoring the plight of the mother of his children, be held up as a beacon of women’s empowerment? Her silence was complicity. Her indifference was violence.
As Petty Ziramba, a Zimbabwean woman living in the UK, I am disgusted.
I feel betrayed that a platform that should amplify authentic female voices has instead chosen to celebrate someone who has failed the very women she claims to represent.
FLAIR stands for First Ladies of Africa Impact & Resilience – qualities that Auxillia Mnangagwa has clearly not embodied in her public conduct. We call on the organisers of the FLAIR Meeting to reconsider this invitation. Zimbabwean women deserve true representation – not photo opportunities or performative leadership.
