Harare, (New Ziana) – Parliament has tendered apologizes for the power outage that disrupted President Emmerson Mnangagwa’s delivery of his State of the Nation Address (SONA) in Harare on Tuesday, acknowledging the incident as a serious technical failure during one of the country’s most significant national events.
In a statement, clerk of parliament Kennedy Chokuda expressed “sincere regrets” over the unexpected interruption that plunged parts of the legislative chamber into darkness as the President delivered his address.
“The Parliament of the Republic of Zimbabwe sincerely regrets the loss of power supplies during the State of the Nation Address by His Excellency, the President of the Republic of Zimbabwe, Cde Dr. E.D. Mnangagwa, today on the 28th of October, and offers sincere apologies to His Excellency, the President, and to the Nation of Zimbabwe,” Chokuda said.
At the time of the incident, Parliament was connected to a generator for power supply.
Chokuda said engineers discovered that although the generator remained operational, it had stopped providing electricity to the building after a key circuit breaker tripped, he said.
“The restoration took longer than expected, resulting in part of the SONA being delivered without power supply,” he noted, describing the incident as unfortunate and highly regrettable.
The disruption stirred attention nationwide, particularly given the ceremonial and constitutional importance of the President’s annual address.
Authorities say a full-scale investigation is now underway. Parliament, together with the Ministry of Local Government and Public Works, ZESA, and other government agencies, is working to establish what transpired and ensure that such a failure never happens again.
Officials pledged to inform the nation once investigations are complete, emphasizing the urgency of strengthening systems to uphold the dignity and smooth delivery of key state functions.
Despite the technical setback, the President proceeded with his address as technicians worked frantically to restore power.
New Ziana
