By Aldridge Dzvene
HARARE – 28 October 2025
The State of the Nation Address (SONA) by President Cde Dr Emmerson Dambudzo Mnangagwa was temporarily disrupted on Tuesday after a power outage hit Parliament Building during the address.
In a statement, the Clerk of Parliament, Mr Kennedy Chokuda, confirmed that the Parliament of Zimbabwe sincerely regretted the loss of power supplies during the President’s address and extended apologies to His Excellency and the nation.
According to preliminary findings, the Parliament Building was running on generator power at the time of the incident, with ZESA supply on standby. The outage occurred when a circuit breaker feeding the load reportedly tripped, cutting off supply even though the generator remained operational.
Mr Chokuda said the restoration process took longer than expected, resulting in part of the President’s address being delivered without power.
He added that Parliament, working with the Ministry of Local Government and Public Works, ZESA, and other government agencies, had launched a full investigation into the incident. The outcome, he said, would be shared with the nation once the probe is concluded.
The investigation is expected to establish the cause of the technical failure and ensure measures are put in place to prevent a recurrence during future high-profile events.
