President Mnangagwa meets United States ambassador

August 15, 2018

Zimbabwe President Emmerson Mnangagwa is meeting with United States Ambassador to Zimbabwe Mr Brian Nichols at State House in Harare this Wednesday.

Mr Nichols presented his credentials last month on the 19th.

The meeting comes just a few days after United States President Donald Trump signed into law the amended Zimbabwe Democracy and Economic Recovery Act (ZDERA).

The approximately hour-long meeting took place a week after U.S. President Donald Trump signed the Zimbabwe Democracy and Economic Recovery Amendment Act of 2018, also known as ZIDERA.

Current President Mnangagwa is among those targeted by the travel bans and financial restrictions.

When Mnangagwa came into power last November, he promised to normalize relations with the U.S. and with European countries that also imposed sanctions.

Nichols said  on Wednesday that the U.S. likes the reforms introduced since Mugabe’s ouster last November, but is troubled by the post-election violence seen August 1, when troops opened fire on demonstrators protesting a delay in presidential election results.

“President Mnangagwa’s commitment to a transparent investigation of those events is very, very important for my government,” Nichols said. “The violence of August 1st, the death of six people in the streets here, intimidation of the opposition polling agents, violence in the areas around Harare, have all been issues of concern.”

Nichols said Wednesday he hopes the court will be impartial in its handling of the case.

Mnangagwa described the Wednesday meeting with Nichols as “very, very positive.”

More details to follow…