The story below as it appeared in an Italian newspaper Il Secolo XIX.
The extravagant expenses of Pokello Nare, wife of the son of President Emmerson Mnangagwa, with eleven friends.
They spent two days in Portofino under the banner of the “Dolce Vita,” but also presenting a fashion brand, enjoying the charm of beach resorts, fashion boutiques, shops in the square, and nautical brokers. It was the “glamour dozen” of Pokello Nare, the powerful daughter-in-law of Zimbabwe’s President Emmerson Mnangagwa and wife of Emmerson Mnangagwa Jr.
Pokello and her group of friends arrived in Portofino determined to have fun and ignore the controversies that, inevitably, accompanied their every step back home in Zimbabwe.
The opposition has condemned the ostentation, while the ruling party has greeted it with a sense of scandal and embarrassment. The political opposition accused them of wasteful luxury in the face of a population struggling with poverty.
In the village, however, there was no lack of curiosity. After all, Pokello is a glamorous celebrity with a high profile, a fashion entrepreneur, a former reality TV star, and an influencer with a mass following. Her glamorous holiday included stops at the great boutiques of the Piazzetta, cocktails, a ride on a luxury motorboat (naturally a Riva), and many of the classic things that the small Ligurian capital of luxury has to offer.
And those who think that Portofino is simply about glamour above all else were proven right. The “glam squad” and their leader, celebrating her 40th birthday, certainly did not go unnoticed. They also left behind a good amount of money in the local coffers and shops they visited. No one in Portofino had reason to complain.
“We are having a very good time, we are very happy about being here, also because the locals have been very welcoming and generous,” commented Pokello Nare herself while sipping a cocktail in the Piazzetta. “Portofino is truly beautiful, and the shops are very well stocked. That’s why we made this effort.”
One of the locations chosen for the celebrations was the famous Carillon Beach resort in Paraggi, one of the trendiest beach clubs in the Tigullio area, complete with its own restaurant.
