Is US ambassador to Zimbabwe Brian Nichols another Christopher Dell?

Mnangagwa’s spokesman, George Charamba, stepped in last month, accusing Nichols of sponsoring local non-governmental organisations to put pressure on the Mnangagwa administration.

Charamba tweeted: “Increasingly, the US Ambassador to Zimbabwe is meddling more and more into the domestics politics of Zimbabwe, including organizing MDC-A-affiliated NGOs at Bronte Hotel last week. The outcome was the formation of the US-funded People’s Assembly Against Poverty. Some day the fox will snap the hunter’s trap-string, to put it in local parlance. Chimuudzai munhu DHONZAMUSORO wenyu iyeye!!!”

When a local online publication said Charamba was lying as there had been no such meeting at the Bronte, he responded: “Wait a minute Mister Publisher; let’s see who laughs last!!!!!”

A few days later, reports of a planned mass protest to force ZANU-PF to go on 31 July started circulating, and so did reports that the US embassy in Harare was sponsoring the protests which are to coincide with the second anniversary of the “disputed” elections.

Charamba came back to ask: “DOES THE US EMBASSY, AMBASSADOR, KNOW? Know that chat groups of the Chamisa lot, which converge around Mhofu Hwende claim that the US Embassy has availed USD300 000 to bankroll the end-of-July failed demonstrations meant to oust the constitutional order which the US observed and endorsed? Know that those chat groups intimate that each participant will be given USD20 as reward for participating in the illegal and ill-fated demonstrations? Above all, know that the Host State is watching very closely & quite ready to take corrective diplomatic measures?”

The US embassy has not yet responded, but the question is, will Nichols fare better than Dell?

Dell felt he had not failed. He wrote: “The official media has had a field day recently whooping that ‘Dell leaves Zimbabwe a failed man’. That’s not quite how it looks from here. I believe that the firm US stance, the willingness to speak out and stand up, have contributed to the accelerating pace of change. Mugabe and his henchman are like bullies everywhere: if they can intimidate you they will. But they’re not used to someone standing up to them and fighting back. It catches them off guard and that’s when they make mistakes. The howls of protest over critical statements from Washington or negative coverage on CNN are the clearest proof of how this hurts them. Ditto the squeals over ‘illegal sanctions’. In addition, the regime has become so used to calling the shots and dictating the pace that the merest stumble panics them. Many local observers have noted that Mugabe is panicked and desperate about hyperinflation at the moment, and hence he’s making mistakes. Possibly fatal mistakes. We need to keep the pressure on in order to keep Mugabe off his game.”

Nichols has one more year to keep pressure on Mnangagwa. But like Dell he is facing another challenge-from the opposition.

Dell witnessed the first major split of the opposition when Welshman Ncube broke away from Morgan Tsvangirai in 2006. He still had over a year left in office.

Nichols has just witnessed another split in the MDC, this time following a Supreme Court ruling which declared Chamisa’s leadership illegal. He has to contend with Thokozani Khupe and Douglas Mwonzora.

How will this pan out?

https://www.insiderzim.com/dell-said-talent-was-thin-in-mdc/

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