Zimbabwe’s ruling party calls US envoy a “thug”, threatens to sack him

Zimbabwe‘s ruling party, Zanu-PF, has warned that it will move to expel the United States’ ambassador to the country, Brian Nichols, calling him a “thug” who incites disturbances and violence.

According to the VOA, Zanu-PF’s spokesperson Patrick Chinamasa, made the party’s intentions known on Monday at a press conference in the country’s capital, Harare.

Chinamasa accused Nichols of among other things, training insurgents and coordinating violence. The Zanu-PF believes the United States, through Nichols, is throwing its weight behind an upcoming protest by opposition groups who are asking for the Zimbabwean government to address the issues of poverty.

The groups are also calling for President Emmerson Mnangagwa to step down as a result of accusations of corruption.

Jacob Ngarivhume, the spokesperson of Transformation Zimbabwe, an aggregate of interest groups committed to social justice, has dubbed Friday’s protest as a turning point for Zimbabwe.

President Mnangagwa who succeeded Robert Mugabe, has clamped down on dissent where it crops up in Zimbabwe. Apart from accusations of authoritarianism, Mnangagwa has also been accused of dictatorial attitudes which includes the government naming of 10 major roads after Mnangagwa, two and a half years into his reign.