LONDON – British broadcaster, ITV security guard employee plotted to assassinate the late Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe at the World Cup Final in South Africa by breaking his neck, a sports commentator has claimed.
Sports journalist Ned Boulting, 53, according to the Daily Mail, said that the security guard blamed Mugabe for his brother’s death and that it was his ‘lifetime ambition’ to kill the African leader.
Referring to the man under the pseudonym Peter, he said that the guard had seen his opportunity following the announcement that Mugabe would be a VIP guest at the final in Johannesburg, according to The Times.
Mr Boulting said that Peter told an ITV cameraman that he would ‘snap Mugabe’s neck’- 32 minutes into the second half of the match between Spain and the Netherlands.
Although the attack never happened, Mr Boulting, pictured, who is ITV’s lead commentator for the Tour de France, believes that the man did want to kill Mugabe
Speaking on The Never Strays Far podcast, he explained that the man had claimed he had meetings with some Zimbabwean opposition leaders and the British foreign secretary at the time in Cape Town.
Mr Boulting said: ‘He had basically been hired, potentially, to carry out the assassination, and still wanted to do it.
‘The cameraman I was working with said ‘You can do it, but we’ve got to agree a time’, because he had a pitch side position behind one of the goals and all the cameramen were focusing on the football.’
The man was going to get into the royal box and jump Robert Mugabe and snap his neck, according to Mr Boulting.
Although the attack never happened, Mr Boulting, who is ITV’s lead commentator for the Tour de France, believes that the man did want to kill Mugabe.
He added: ‘I won’t go into details, it’s way too dark . . . but honestly, he wasn’t [having us on].’
