to leave. The journalists resisted, and the police eventually withdrew outside the hotel fence.  It was reported in the media that President Mnangagwa had sent a senior ZANUPF official, Senator Simon Khaya Moyo, to the hotel to request the withdrawal of the police. After about an hour, the police trucks drove away. Mr Chamisa arrived, and the press conference started.  Later in the day, President Mnangagwa stated on television: ‘The scenes today at Brontë Hotel have no place in our society and we are urgently investigating the matter to understand exactly what happened’. 57