Zim GBC News | Political Correspondent
Fresh details have emerged revealing that Parliament deliberately sidelined the national power utility, ZESA, opting instead for a hired generator which then failed and plunged President Emmerson Mnangagwa’s State of the Nation Address (SONA) into darkness on Tuesday.
The President was forced to complete the final minutes of his crucial speech with an aide holding a torch for illumination after the backup power system failed at the new Mount Hampden parliamentary building.
According to documents and sources close to the event, Parliament had taken pre-emptive measures to avoid a repeat of a November 2024 blackout by designating a generator as the primary power source, with ZESA relegated to standby.
In a letter dated October 21, 2025, Acting Clerk of Parliament Nomasonto Audrey Sunga explicitly outlined the arrangement to Local Government Secretary John Bhasera.
“It is noted that there is an approved arrangement to run the event using the generator as the primary source of power with ZETDC power on standby following previous power disruptions,” Sunga wrote, instructing that the generator be “serviced, fully tested and confirmed fit for uninterrupted operation.”
Despite these precautions, the system failed shortly after 2:30 PM as President Mnangagwa neared the end of his address. Parliamentary sources revealed that the automatic switch-over to ZESA failed because engineers had not correctly set the breaker, requiring a manual intervention that took over five minutes.
Following the incident, Speaker of Parliament Jacob Mudenda apologized and hinted at possible sabotage.
“It is proper that we apologise to His Excellency the President and the House for the electricity outage,” Mudenda told legislators.
“We will go beyond what happened and trace the culprits and deal with them accordingly. Those that will be found wanting will regret the day of their existence.”
Government Spokesman Ndavaningi Mangwana reframed the incident as a display of presidential resolve, posting on X:
“DETERMINATION PERSONIFIED. Even a power outage couldn’t stop a determined President Mnangagwa from fulfilling his constitutional duty.”
The blackout occurred despite Parliament’s specific measures to avoid power disruptions, raising questions about the implementation of contingency plans for major state events.
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