Zanu-PF slates US envoy

United States of America's envoy to Zimbabwe Ambassador Brian Nichols' failure to denounce the violent insurrection that happened at Capitol Hill in Washington DC on January 6 - killing five people and injuring scores others - smacks of "open hypocrisy", ZANU-PF has said.

In a statement yesterday, the ruling party's spokesperson, Ambassador Simon Khaya Moyo, said it was ironic that the diplomat would chose to remain tight-lipped despite his rabid reactions to comparable opposition-led violent protests that have plagued the country in the past.

The United States Embassy in Harare has often courted Government's ire by issuing statements that are often deemed undiplomatic.

Supporters of outgoing US president Donald Trump stormed congress on the day it was meeting to certify results of the November presidential elections, in an attempted insurrection that was designed to keep in power the incumbent, who claims the elections were massively rigged.

"One shudders to think what could have happened in the Third World if any contestant to a political office had failed to concede defeat as happened in the USA in the numerous elections which have been held to date," said Amb Khaya Moyo.

"Further, one would have expected the normally outspoken US Ambassador to Zimbabwe, Brian Nichols, to lambast these anomalous events in his native country.

"Ambassador Nichols' open hypocrisy, where he negatively postures against actions by other sovereign states' security forces to bring normalcy and order in their jurisdiction, deserves repudiation and scorn. We all expected him to at least comment on the actions of these hooligans and vandals, and the subsequent interventions by that country's security forces."

The unsavoury incidents at the Capitol, Amb Khaya Moyo added, should serve as a lesson to the US envoy that his country's "lofty democratic credentials" are an illusion.

"At this juncture, we must remind Ambassador Nichols and his like-minded acolytes for the umpteenth time that it is a sacrosanct rule in diplomacy to always tread with utmost carefulness when commenting on sovereign issues regarding other countries.

"Now that the ball of chaos is in Ambassador Nichols' courtyard, rabidly thrusting eggs on his face, we wait for his views.

"Even his local lackeys have been caught naked, leading to an unusual graveyard silence." Failure by local political activists to denounce the violence was instructive, he said.

"The revolutionary party, ZANU-PF, has observed and noted with keen interest the acquiescing reaction of the usual rabid commentators on the recent mayhem and chaos which engulfed the heart and soul of American democracy, the Capitol Hill.

"As is now in the public domain, hooligans nearly achieved their intended insurrection by attempting to disrupt a constitutional process meant to pave way for the smooth transition to the inauguration of the 46th American president-elect Joe Biden."

The ruling party, however, said it was looking forward to working with the incoming Biden administration to remove economic sanctions imposed on Zimbabwe.

"Having pointed out those anomalies, which we expect the usual detractors to self-introspect and take corrective action, the revolutionary party, ZANU-PF, wishes the American people and its president-elect Joe Biden success on his forthcoming term of office, which begins after his inauguration on January 20, 2020.

"In conclusion, given our existing cordial relations with the USA, we look forward to the new USA administration to remove the illegal sanctions imposed on Zimbabwe."