Published: 11 hours ago

The Parliament of Zimbabwe has issued a formal statement regarding the loss of power during President Emmerson Mnangagwa's State of the Nation Address on Tuesday, 28 October 2025.

In the statement, the Clerk of Parliament, K.M. Chokuda, expressed regret over the incident and extended sincere apologies to the President and the nation.

According to the release, the Parliament building was running on a generator as the main power source, with ZESA supply on standby. The outage occurred despite the generator running, as a circuit breaker supplying the load had tripped. The restoration took longer than anticipated, resulting in the final portion of the address being delivered without power.

The statement confirmed that Parliament, the Ministry of Local Government and Public Works, ZESA, and other government agencies are conducting a thorough investigation into the incident. Measures will be implemented to prevent a recurrence and a report will be provided to the nation once the inquiry concludes.

The incident occurred during the critical final minutes of the address, prompting speculation and symbolic interpretations among observers. Parliament's official explanation cites technical failure rather than deliberate sabotage.

Clerk Chokuda concluded:

"The Parliament of the Republic of Zimbabwe sincerely regrets the loss of power supplies… and offers sincere apologies to His Excellency, the President, and to the Nation of Zimbabwe."
- BD

You might also want to read this

• Mnangagwa delivers SONA in darkness