The ruling Zanu-PF party has accused the United States of interfering in Zimbabwe’s political affairs, claiming that the Citizens’ Coalition for Change (CCC) is a puppet party bent on facilitating Zimbabwe’s re-colonisation.
The ruling party’s vitriol comes after the Southern African Development Community Election Observer Mission (SEOM), African Union-Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa, European Union Observer Mission, Commmonwealth Observer Mission and the Carter Center raised the red flag over the August 23 and 24 polls.
The US embassy in Harare also released a statement saying it shared the sentiments of the different missions.
“These missions cited problems with the transparency, independence, fairness and credibility of electoral processes; undue restrictions on the rights to freedom of assembly and association, and freedom of expression that are guaranteed by Zimbabwe’s Constitution and reflected in regional guidelines; reports of voter intimidation; and the disenfranchisement of candidates, particularly women,” the US Embassy statement said.
Soon after President Emmerson Mnangagwa was proclaimed winner of the largely controversial poll with a 52,6% win against opposition leader Nelson Chamisa’s 44%, Zanu-PF spokesperson Christopher Mutsvangwa said the opposition CCC party would never rule Zimbabwe because it was an infiltration tool by the West to recolonise Zimbabwe.
Addressing journalists in Harare yesterday, Mutsvangwa said: “America does not want to believe that Africa can make sovereign decisions about its resources. They want to control those resources by putting puppets in government and get them for free.
“What happens in the end is that they are expecting to have supper of African resources. We have already finished breakfast with the Chinese, the Indians and we are not going to stop and wait for America.”
Mutsvangwa said the US was a greedy country which developed by capitalising on developing countries such as Zimbabwe.
“Americans want to have a free ride on African resources; they do not want to buy them on the market like the Chinese and the Indians. They want to put a puppet in Zimbabwe and then come and negotiate with a puppet so that they get freebies.