Nando's axes Robert Mugabe 'dictator' ad - mocking Mugabe caused threats to staff

Nando's are no strangers to joking with everyone and everything in their ad campaigns, but there's one thing they take seriously: threats to their own staff.

A youth group loyal to Mr Mugabe has threatened Nado's staff after the Last Dictator standing aired, and Nando's has decided to pull the ad from airing reports BBC. A statement from Nando's said: "We've noted with concern the political reaction emanating out of Zimbabwe, including perceived threats against Nando's Zimbabwe's management, staff and customers." "We feel strongly that this is the prudent step to take in a volatile climate and believe that no TV commercial is worth risking the safety of Nando's staff and customers."

See ad here: Last Dictator standing
 

Nando's South Africa decided to axe its commercial after Mugabe loyalists from the Chipangano group had called for a boycott and other unspecified punitive action against the company.

"We condemn such adverts because it reduces our president to be someone without values," Chipangano leader Jimmy Kunaka told the BBC's Brian Hungwe earlier this week. Mr Kunaka said Nando's South Africa should "stop that nonsense to play with the head of our state and government".
"We're ready to defend the head of the state and government in whatever way we can," he added, without elaborating further.

Meanwhile, Musekiwa Kumbula, corporate affairs director of Nando's Zimbabwe franchise, told the BBC that the advert "has nothing to do with us", describing the commercial as "insensitive and distasteful". Under Zimbabwe's law, it is an offence to insult the president or undermine the authority of the office.