Temba Mliswa calls for Uebert Angel’s arrest as political row intensifies

Former Norton MP Temba Mliswa has called for preacher Uebert Angel to be arrested over sexual assault allegations, according to the article, adding another sharp exchange to an already heated political dispute. Mliswa, who is also described as President Emmerson Mnangagwa’s cousin, criticised Angel after the preacher urged Zimbabweans to stop what he called attacks on Vice-President Constantino Chiwenga. Angel made his comments during a sermon at his Hippodrome ministry. He said criticism of political leaders was acceptable, but argued that contempt should not be disguised as criticism. He also said people should respect Mnangagwa’s decision to keep Chiwenga as his deputy, adding that he should remain quiet if the President considered Chiwenga suitable for the role. Mliswa responded in a lengthy post titled “The False Prophet Who Became a Praetorian”. The article says he accused Angel of applying a double standard by defending Chiwenga from criticism. The source’s account ends before giving the full details of Mliswa’s argument, so the specific allegations in the post cannot be assessed from the material provided. The dispute comes amid wider public discussion about tensions within Zanu PF. At the party’s annual conference in Chinhoyi on 16 October, Chiwenga questioned whether the party was repeating past mistakes and called for what he described as a “brutal and honest self-appraisal”. The conference also backed Mnangagwa’s continued leadership until 2030 and his position as the party’s sole presidential candidate for the 2029 congress. Separately, social media posts claimed Angel had escaped an armed attack in Shawasha on 6 November, alleging that two people emerged from bushes and a bullet struck a nearby water tank. The article says Angel was reportedly unharmed, but notes that the claim had not been accompanied by a public statement from police or his representatives. Other social media users alleged the story was politically engineered; that claim was also unverified.