On 23 June 2018, a grenade exploded at White City Stadium in Bulawayo, Zimbabwe. The blast occurred at a ZANU–PF campaign rally, just after President Emmerson Mnangagwa had finished giving a speech.^[1] It was described as an assassination attempt against Mnangagwa, who was unharmed.^[1][2][3] The bombing resulted in at least 49 injured, including Vice-Presidents Constantino Chiwenga and Kembo Mohadi, and other high-ranking government officials.^[1][3][4][5] Two security agents later died of their injuries.^[6][7]

The bombing was widely condemned in Zimbabwe and abroad by politicians of both ZANU–PF and opposition parties, and by other public figures. In an interview with the BBC several days after the blast, Mnangagwa blamed the attack on former First Lady Grace Mugabe's G40 faction within ZANU–PF, while stopping short of blaming Mugabe directly.^[8] On 27 June 2018, the Zimbabwe Defence Forces stated that they had arrested an individual on the day of the attack. Two more suspects were later arrested, but released without charges.

On the evening of 14 November 2017, elements of the Zimbabwe Defence Forces (ZDF) gathered around Harare, the capital of Zimbabwe, and seized control of the Zimbabwe Broadcasting Corporation and key areas of the city. The next day, the ZDF issued a statement saying that it was not a coup d'état and that President Robert Mugabe was safe, although the situation would return to normal only after the ZDF had dealt with the "criminals" around Mugabe responsible for the socio-economic problems of Zimbabwe.^[9]

The uprising took place amid tensions in the ruling ZANU–PF party between former First Vice-President Emmerson Mnangagwa (who was backed by the ZDF and the party's Lacoste faction) and First Lady Grace Mugabe (who was backed by the younger G40 faction) over who would succeed the 93-year-old President Mugabe. A week after Mnangagwa was fired and forced to flee the country, and a day before troops moved into Harare, Zimbabwe Defence Forces chief Constantino Chiwenga issued a statement that purges of senior ZANU–PF officials like Mnangagwa had to stop.^[10] On 19 November, ZANU-PF removed Mugabe as party leader, replacing him with Mnangagwa. Mugabe resigned the presidency on 21 November 2017.^[11] Mnangagwa was sworn in as President on 24 November 2017.^[12]

On the afternoon of Saturday, 23 June 2018, Zimbabwe's ruling party, ZANU–PF, was holding a campaign rally at White City Stadium in Bulawayo, the country's second largest city and an opposition stronghold.^[1][13][14] The rally, which was attended by several thousand people, was held to garner support for the party ahead of the July general elections.^[1][13] It was Mnangagwa's first rally in Bulawayo, which the party has not won since the 2000 elections.^[5]

The blast occurred in afternoon, shortly after President Emmerson Mnangagwa had finished giving a speech.^[1] As Mnangagwa and other party leaders walked offstage to enter a VIP tent, a grenade exploded, creating a cloud of smoke and knocking over people standing close by.^[1][15] Mnangagwa, who was close to the blast but was unhurt, was rushed away by security personnel, while the crowds began running in all directions.^[1][13][15] Red Cross medics rushed in, treating and evacuating the wounded.^[15] State television immediately cut their broadcast after the blast.^[14]

Immediately after the blast, Mnangagwa was rushed away from the scene by his security personnel.^[13][14] His motorcade drove him to safety at the Bulawayo State House.^[14] Victims of the blast were evacuated to Mater Dei Hospital in Bulawayo,^[17] and Mnangagwa visited them there hours later.^[1] Later, the injured were moved to Manyame Air Base hospital in Harare.^[17]

Presidential spokesman George Charamba told the state-owned Sunday Mail that the general elections scheduled for 30 July 2018 will be held as planned despite the blast, and said that a state of emergency would not be declared.^[15]

On the day of the attack, the Zimbabwe Republic Police offered an unspecified reward for information leading to the arrest of the perpetrator of the bombing.^[16] A police spokesperson said that crime scene investigators were examining the matter.^[16] In the days after the attack, unverified details and explanations regarding the attack were reported. One source reported that an explosive was placed underneath the stage on which Mnangagwa was standing,^[31] while another source quoted a woman in attendance at the rally who claimed she saw a young child throw a "package" at the stage just prior to the explosion.^[32] According to the woman's claim, which is uncorroborated, the child approached the state and asked to read a poem in praise of Mnangagwa, and was held back by security personnel but pushed through them and threw something towards the stage.^[5]

On Wednesday, 27 June, 35 security and investigative personnel met in Harare to discuss the investigations.^[18] Later that day, police released new details about the perpetrator and details of the attack. After the blast, police interviewed witnesses, a number of whom reported that they saw the same man throw an object at the stage.^[33] Police described the suspect as a young male "between the ages of 23 and 25", about 1.7 meters tall and of dark complexion, who was wearing a yellow ZANU–PF T-shirt at the time of the attack.^[18][33] Witnesses told police that the man lobbed an item towards the stage from about 30 to 35 meters away, but the item missed its target after hitting a rope and then bouncing off a security officer's cheek before landing and detonating.^[18][33] The suspect was allegedly "fiddling around" with the object before throwing it.^[33] After the blast, police and military went after him, but witnesses said they saw soldiers get to him first and arrest him, police reported.^[18][33] The suspect has not been seen since the military apprehended him in the townships outside White City Stadium.^[18]

The 27 June meeting highlighted rivalries between the Zimbabwe Defence Forces and the Zimbabwe Republic Police amidst the ongoing investigations.^[18] Presidential spokesman George Charamba noted that "unresolved leadership issues" were affecting investigations.^[18] These internal conflicts within ZANU–PF and between different security forces were paralleled by alleged tensions between President Mnangagwa and Vice-President Chiwenga, the former Commander of the Defence Forces and a major figure in the 2017 coup.^[18]

Internal rivalries between Zimbabwean security forces were exacerbated, not alleviated, by the military's arrest of the alleged perpetrator.^[18] The military had not responded to the Zimbabwe Republic Police's requests for confirmation of the suspect's detainment, nor to police requests for their Criminal Investigations Department to interview the suspect.^[18][33] Police officials told the Zimbabwe Independent that although they had found some good leads through witness interviews, they lack access to the suspect, so the investigations cannot "proceed properly."^[18][33] Currently, investigative units from the military, the police's Criminal Investigation Department, and the Central Intelligence Organisation are based in Bulawayo to investigate the attack.^[18] Current investigations lack coordination between the three groups, and there was even conflict over hotel accommodations for investigators.^[18]

Police investigations concluded that the perpetrator must have been someone with some security background and training, and experience handling weapons.^[18] Police said that the way the grenade was handled and launched indicated at least basic security training.^[18] Police are currently investigating the source of the explosive, which they say could not have come from police, as they no longer use grenades since the November 2017 coup.^[18] Weapons experts are analyzing the debris from the explosion to determine what type of grenade was used and where it might have come from.^[18] Police say that their inability to question the suspect, who is in military custody, prevents them from asking about the weapon and its origin, and the suspect's motive.^[18] They said they thought he may have been a hired hitman.^[18]

Investigations show that President Mnangagwa was the likely target of the attack, though investigators have not yet determined with certainty that it was an assassination attempt.^[18] Investigators and government officials told the Zimbabwe Independent that had the grenade not deflected off a rope, it likely would have detonated within a fatal distance of Mnangagwa.^[18] In a 27 June interview, Mnangagwa stated that he expected arrests to be made soon.^[24]

Two suspects, residents of Bulawayo's Pumula suburb, reportedly appeared before a magistrate at the Tredgold Magistrates' Court in Bulawayo to answer charges regarding the 23 June bombing.^[34] The suspects were identified as John Zulu and Douglas Musekiwa, and it is unclear is one of these men was the suspect arrested by the military the day of the attack.^[34] Zulu and Musekiwa were later released without charges.^[35]

• List of terrorist incidents in June 2018
• List of unsolved murders