Daily News editor Guthrie Munyuki and executives from Modus Media, the publishers of both the Daily News and the Financial Gazette, met with President Emmerson Mnangagwa, Defence Minister Oppah Muchinguri, and Central Intelligence Organisation (CIO) chief Isaac Moyo at State House on Friday to personally apologize for an advertisement that mistakenly suggested the President was dead.
On Thursday, September 19, The Financial Gazette published an advertisement from the Zimbabwe Defence Forces congratulating Mnangagwa on his birthday, but it erroneously concluded with the phrase, “May his soul rest in eternal peace.”
The Daily News issued an apology on Friday, explaining that the mistake was due to a production error.
Later that day, George Charamba, Deputy Chief Secretary for Presidential Communications in the Office of the President and Cabinet, said Mnangagwa was satisfied with the explanation provided by the Modus Media executives.
According to Charamba, in a light-hearted moment, Mnangagwa humorously asked them, “Where are the flowers for the dead man?”
Charamba also shared a letter of apology from Munyuki, addressed to Aaron Nhepera, the permanent secretary for the Ministry of Defence, dated September 19. Read the letter:
<blockquote>
The Financial Gazette, published a birthday congratulatory message to President Emmerson Mnangagwa by the Zimbabwe Defence Forces (ZDF) with a serious error in its edition of this week.
At the end of the ZDF birthday message, and through lapses in the production process, the newspaper ended up carrying mortifyingly wrong words instead of saying ‘MAKOROKOTO, AMHLOPE, CONGRATULATIONS!’
We apologise profusely to President Mnangagwa, his family, his office, the government and to the ZDF for the anguish and inconvenience that this inadvertent mistake caused.
We have taken action to strengthen our internal systems to ensure that this kind of error never occurs again.
Once again, we would like to apologise for this error profusely.
</blockquote>
The meeting at State House took place following an incident early Friday morning when unidentified gunmen, claiming to be law and order police, raided Munyuki’s home in Harare but did not find him.
These alleged gunmen, reportedly in two vehicles—a Toyota Fortuner and a Toyota Hilux—temporarily confiscated the phones of Munyuki’s wife and children and searched through their messages.
Mistakes in advertisements are common in Zimbabwean newspapers. This is often due to advertising staff using old templates for regular clients, making only minor adjustments to the text.
It seems that the Daily News staff mistakenly used a condolence message but forgot to replace the phrase “May His Soul Rest in Eternal Peace” with the celebratory phrases “Makorokoto, Amhlope, Congratulations!”
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More: <a href="https://www.pindula.co.zw/">Pindula News</a>

Pindula News

The newspaper made a big mistake by saying the President was dead in a birthday message. They met the President to say sorry. The President joked about being dead. The newspaper also sent an apology letter. Some people went to the editor's house early in the morning, looking for him. The mistake happened because they used the wrong words in the message. Mistakes are common in newspapers in Zimbabwe. They promised to be more careful in the future. The President forgave them.

Modus Media Executives Meet Mnangagwa After "Rest In Peace" Error In Birthday Message

Armed men claiming to be law and order police raided the home of Daily News editor Guthrie Munyuki early Friday morning.
This happened after its sister publication, The Financial Gazette made a mistake in an advertisement that suggested President Emmerson Mnangagwa had died.
Citing a Daily News executive briefed on the raid, <a href="https://www.zimlive.com/armed-men-raid-editors-home-after-rest-in-peace-error-in-mnangagwa-advert/">ZimLive</a> reported that Munyuki was not home at the time but the gunmen temporarily took his wife and children’s phones and looked through their messages.
The executive, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, said a group of men in two vehicles, a Toyota Fortuner and a Toyota Hilux, went to Munyuki’s house asking for him. Said the executive:
<blockquote>
Guthrie’s brother also lives in the same neighbourhood in Westgate and he too was woken up by nearly a dozen men driving in a Toyota Fortuner and a Toyota Hilux. They demanded his whereabouts.
</blockquote>
Lawyer Alex Muchadehama planned to meet with the police on Friday to get more information about the situation.
The Financial Gazette had published an advertisement on Thursday from the Zimbabwe Defence Forces congratulating Mnangagwa on his birthday, but it mistakenly ended with, “May his soul rest in eternal peace.”
On Friday, the Daily News apologised, saying the mistake was due to a production error. Said the publication:
<blockquote>
The Financial Gazette, published a birthday congratulatory message to President Emmerson Mnangagwa by the Zimbabwe Defence Forces (ZDF) with a serious error in its edition of this week.
At the end of the ZDF birthday message, and through lapses in the production process, the newspaper ended up carrying mortifyingly wrong words instead of saying ‘MAKOROKOTO, AMHLOPE, CONGRATULATIONS!’
We apologise profusely to President Mnangagwa, his family, his office, the government and to the ZDF for the anguish and inconvenience that this inadvertent mistake caused.
We have taken action to strengthen our internal systems to ensure that this kind of error never occurs again.
</blockquote>
Mistakes in advertisements happen often in Zimbabwean newspapers. This is because the advertising staff usually use old templates for regular clients, making only small changes to the text.
Unfortunately, this error occurred at a very bad time for the publication as it happened just days after a military helicopter crashed while trying to take off to pick up President Mnangagwa from Bikita.
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More: <a href="https://www.pindula.co.zw/">Pindula News</a>

Armed men went to the house of a newspaper editor because of a mistake in an advertisement that said the president had died. The editor was not home, but the men took his family's phones. The newspaper apologized for the error and said they will be more careful in the future. This mistake happened because newspapers often use old templates for ads. This happened at a bad time because a military helicopter crash had just happened. The editor's lawyer is meeting with the police to learn more about the incident.

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