Is US ambassador to Zimbabwe Brian Nichols another Christopher Dell?

“If the country’s laws were evenly applied and enforced, government coffers would be full and the economy would be humming; tax revenue and foreign exchange would not leak from the Treasury, and government would recover some of the money that has made a privileged few extremely wealthy. It’s not sanctions, it’s corruption.

“Blaming sanctions is a convenient scapegoat to distract the public from the real reasons behind Zimbabwe’s economic challenges, corruption, economic mismanagement, and failure to respect human rights and uphold the rule of law.”

Moyo said under the Vienna Convention diplomats should respect the laws and regulations of the receiving State; and should not interfere in the internal affairs of that State.

“It follows, therefore, that the conduct of any diplomat which is openly inimical to the promotion of friendly relations is far removed from the core objectives of the Convention and cannot simply be ignored,” he said.

“Any conduct which violates the generally accepted and legally recognised functions of diplomats constitutes an abuse of diplomatic privilege.

“Moreover, no diplomat, let alone an Ambassador, should allow themselves to behave or to conduct themselves like some kind of Opposition member, with complete disregard for all norms of permissible diplomatic protocol.

“The constant portrayal as a fact of what are mostly largely unsubstantiated allegations or even rumours, often still being investigated or processed by law-enforcement or other agencies of government, is unacceptable.”

In what was viewed as a threat to expel Nichols, Moyo went on: “Persistent behaviour of this nature will test the patience of even the most tolerant amongst us. It would be a very sad day if the dialogue between the US Embassy and this ministry, and government more broadly, were to collapse completely under its present leadership, such that we would end up just ignoring or even avoiding each other.

“We genuinely seek dialogue with all well-meaning countries as part of our re-engagement efforts. But our openness and the innate generosity of spirit of all Zimbabweans should not be taken for granted and should certainly not be abused.

“We have the means to bring all of this to an end, should we deem it necessary or should we be pushed too far.”

This did not rein in Nichols as he continued to protest Zimbabwe’s human rights violations.

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