Chinamasa savages US ambassador Brian Nichols

ZANU-PF acting spokesperson Patrick Chinamasa yesterday again savaged United States (US) ambassador to Zimbabwe Brian Nichols, saying he is pushing a regime change agenda.

This comes after the US embassy in Harare maintained that corruption, a dearth of the rule of law and other transgressions were affecting the country's economic progress, not sanctions.

Addressing the media at Zanu-PF headquarters in the capital, Chinamasa said Nichols was sponsoring the anti-Zimbabwe campaign.

"When you hear the noise made by the US ambassador in Zimbabwe basically justifying sanctions… we know what he is doing to finance some private individuals to push an online anti-Zimbabwe narrative. What you need to know is that he is doing his job, he is undertaking a CIA (Central Intelligence Agency) regime change agenda and he is on the forefront of that initiative, you need to understand that," Chinamasa claimed.

He added that Nichols was being used by the US to fight Zanu-PF.

"When he speaks, he is not speaking like a normal diplomat; a normal diplomat comes to your country to promote good relations. In his case, he is coming openly to promote the regime change agenda in Zimbabwe, like what happened in Libya, Afghanistan, Iraq and Syria. The front-runner to effect the regime change agenda is always the CIA, so you must understand him.

"I feel sorry for him, especially given that he is African-American and that he is used in this manner and that he can descend so low to lie that imposing sanctions on Agribank and ZFC, which are manufacturers of fertiliser, was done over violation of human rights. I didn't think that he would sink so low in terms of misleading, not only the population in Zimbabwe, but globally and the American public," Chinamasa said.

This comes after the US remains adamant that Zimbabwe has not done enough to have sanctions imposed on the country in 2001 lifted.

"The Zimbabwean government has set the goal of becoming a middle-income country by 2030. To get there, it should fulfil its promises of upholding the rule of law, fighting corruption, respecting human rights, and fully implementing Zimbabwe's 2013 Constitution.  #ItsNotSanctions

"The path forward to prosperity and deeper engagement with the United States and the international community requires progress on these goals. #ItsNotSanctions," the embassy tweeted a day before  Sadc marked Zimbabwe Anti-Sanctions Day on October 25.

Zimbabwe authorities have accused the US of meddling in its internal affairs and fuelling instability.

In July, Chinamasa called Nichols a thug.

"We remind the US ambassador Brian Nichols and his coterie of gangsters and mercenaries disguised as diplomats that it is high time they get to know Zimbabwe is a sovereign republic and full state under the Montevideo Convention.

"If he (Nichols) continues to engage in acts of undermining this republic, mobilising and funding disturbances, coordinating violence and training insurgency, our leadership will not hesitate to give him his marching orders. Diplomats should not behave like thugs.  Brian Nichols is a thug. Zanu-PF reminds Nichols that he is not a super diplomat in this country," Chinamasa said then.

But in an interview with the Daily News on Sunday, Nichols said he was not concerned about personal attacks.

"The United States shares the desires of the people of Zimbabwe who want to see a peaceful, democratic, and prosperous Zimbabwe that provides for its people and contributes to regional stability. 

"To realise these goals, we strongly believe it is important that government and non-governmental entities alike promote our shared values and to work in areas of common concern.

"Whenever we may differ on the best means of achieving these goals, we will seek to engage in a dialogue that is respectful and that seeks to uphold the universal values and rights that Zimbabweans fought so hard to gain 40 years ago," Nichols said.