A plane carrying Zimbabwean President Emmerson Mnangagwa to Victoria Falls turned back mid-air last week after receiving a bomb threat. (Maxim Konstantinov/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images)
- Governor Quan Read, from Durban, was arrested and appeared in court in Harare, Zimbabwe.
- The country will seek to prove that he was involved in a bomb threat email sent to FastJet on Friday that influenced President Emmerson Mnangagwa and others.
- Zimbabwe's airports remain under high alert.
A man from Durban has been detained in Zimbabwe on suspicion of being involved in a bomb threat at Victoria Falls International Airport last week.
“Our security agencies have traced the so-called John Doe to one Governor Quan Read,” Presidential Spokesperson George Charamba said in a statement.
“In view of the ongoing operation, we will leave it at that for now. We thank the people of Zimbabwe for remaining calm as the operation progresses.”
The 26-year-old governor was arrested Sunday at Robert Mugabe International Airport on his way to South Africa, the government said.
He was unable to board the plane because an airport scanner detected five bullets in his luggage.
Read | Zimbabwe's Mnangagwa makes mid-air U-turn on his way to Victoria Falls due to bomb threat
Mr Govender arrived in Zimbabwe on a business trip on February 26th.
He appeared in court without a lawyer on Monday and is expected to appear again on Tuesday before Judge Sharon Lakafa in Harare.
The email threat claimed that the Victoria Falls terrorists were preparing an attack on air traffic.
Due to the alert, Zimbabwean President Emmerson Mnangagwa boarded his Falcon 7X and made a mid-air U-turn to return to Harare.
strict security
Mr Mnangagwa then traveled to Victoria Falls to attend the opening ceremony of the 56th United Nations Economic Commission for Africa.
Security was on high alert at Victoria Falls.
According to a notice from the Zimbabwe Airports Company, only airport staff and travelers are allowed to enter the terminal.
The drop-off point to the international terminal has been closed off, and secondary screening has been introduced at the boarding gate.
Only after inspection can the package be shrink-wrapped.
Due to the increased police and military presence, all packages that passed through the scanner were also physically inspected.
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