By 
The United States of America government on Tuesday summoned the
Zimbabwean ambassador to USA, Innocent Mutembwa, following a vicious attack on Brian Nichols by ZANU PF.
By Tongai Mwenje
Nichols is the current US ambassador to Zimbabwe.
In a press conference held by the ruling party on Monday in the capital city, Zanu PF acting spokesperson Patrick Chinamasa accused Ambassador Brian Nichols of ‘funding disturbances, coordinating violence and training fighters’.
Chinamasa went on to label Nichols a “thug” and accused him of funding the opposition ahead of this week’s planned anti-government protests.
“He (Nichols) continues to engage in acts of undermining this republic and if he does so, if he continues engaging in acts of mobilising and funding disturbances, coordinating violence and training fighters, our leadership will not hesitate to give him marching orders,” Chinamasa said.
“Diplomats should not behave like thugs, and Brian Nichols is a thug.”
The US embassy in Harare did not immediately respond to Chinamasa’s comments.
However, on Tuesday, Assistant Secretary for U.S Department of State’s Bureau of African Affairs Tibor Nagy said they had summoned the Ambassador of Zimbabwe to explain the offensive and accusation utterances.
“Comments from #ZANUPF – while sadly not surprising – are deeply offensive. We have summoned the Ambassador of Zimbabwe to explain,” he tweeted.
His Tweet was endorsed by U.S Foreign Relations Committee, “The U.S continues to be strongest international partner of the Zimbabwean people, despite #Zimbabwe’s governing party pursuing a policy of name-calling, deflection and misinformation to justify their current economic and political crisis. Keep up the good work, Amb Nichols.”
Political tensions are rising fast in Zimbabwe after activists called for demonstrations on July 31 against government corruption, which they blame for deepening the worst economic crisis in more than a decade.
In the past week, Minister of Information Monica Mutsvangwa and Minister of Foreign Affairs Sibusiso Moyo have accused Western countries of sponsoring Hopewell Chin’ono, a prominent journalist known for exposing alleged government corruption, and Jacob Ngarivhume, an opposition politician behind the planned protests.
They have been detained for a week on allegations of organising the planned protests. The police have said they are looking for several other activists and politicians accused of mobilising protests.
Chinamasa on Monday urged party supporters to defend themselves from protesters and avoid a repeat of the deadly violence that followed post-election demonstrations in August 2018 and the January 2019 protests over a steep fuel price rise.
“Don’t be intimidated by hooligans and mercenaries. Don’t be like sitting ducks as you were in August 2018, don’t be sitting ducks as you were in January 2019. No, this timue no. Use any means at your disposal to defend yourselves,” he said.
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