Zimbabwe’s Vice President Kembo Mohadi resigned Monday in the face of sexual misconduct allegations, apologising for tasks he “failed to do well”.
The allegations became rife since audio recordings of phone conversations allegedly of Mohadi soliciting sex from several women, including a subordinate in his office went viral.
The 71-year-old leader said in a letter posted on the information ministry’s Twitter account “I am stepping down as the Vice President of the Republic of Zimbabwe…with immediate effect”.
He said he chose to leave office “not as a matter of cowardice” but out of respect for the office of the presidency “so that it is not compromised or caricatured by actions that are linked to my challenges as an individual”.
“I have been going through a soul-searching pilgrimage and realised that I need the space to deal with my problems outside the governance chair,” he added.
He restated his denial of any wrongdoing, explaining that he was “a victim of information distortion, voice cloning, and sponsored spooking and political sabotage”. He has decided to take legal recourse.
He’s held several ministerial appointments under former president Robert Mugabe and was appointed vice president in 2017 following Mugabe’s removal from office.
Mohadi, a retired soldier and veteran of the country’s liberation war, was one of Zimbabwe’s two vice presidents.
