Nelson Chamisa & Jonathan Moyo given advice by US officials, write to President Ramaphosa

Nelson Chamisa & Jonathan Moyo given advice by US officials, write to President Ramaphosa.Self-exiled G40 kingpin Professor Jonathan Moyo and MDC-ALLIANCE leader Mr Nelson Chamisa have allegedly written a letter to South African President Cyril Ramaphosa and selected SADC leaders requesting for them to push for exclusive dialogue between President Mnangagwa and Mr Chamisa,

outside the Political Actors Dialogue (Polad).The letter dubbed “Open Letter to President Ramaphosa” was not sent through official channels, but has been distributed to five newspapers, among them the Sunday Times for publication on Sunday, Kenyan sources said.President Ramaphosa is especially targeted since he is taking over the African Union chairmanship in January next year.“

Chamisa and Moyo have agreed that they would not send the letter to the Presidents of Mozambique, Zambia, Malawi and Angola, claiming that ‘the regimes in these countries are as repressive as Zimbabwe.“Although they initially wanted to exclude President Masisi of Botswana from the list of recipients of the letter, Chamisa assured Moyo that the Khama remnants in the BDP would be in a position to push Botswana towards a more friendly posture.

“Chamisa and Moyo were advised by US officials to embark on a diplomatic offensive against the rising anti sanctions sentiments, ahead of the AU Summit in January 2020,’’ said the sources.However, the initiative is unlikely to succeed as African countries are convinced that the sanctions are not justified.MDC secretary-general Mr Charlton Hwende yesterday said; “My president Chamisa is very clear in engaging SADC leaders to mediate between Zanu-PF and MDC-A.

‘There is need for dialogue between the two major political parties in Zimbabwe to take the country forward.”Analysts and political leaders have criticised the MDC-A leader for continuing to insist on dialogue between President Mnangagwa and himself outside POLAD.Recently, Mr Chamisa approached bishop of the Zion Christian Church (ZCC) Nehemiah Mutendi to facilitate dialogue with President Mnangagwa.National Constitutional Assembly (NCA) leader Professor Lovemore Madhuku said if the MDC-A was serious about dialogue with Zanu-PF, it should do so through Polad.

“Polad provides that platform where two political parties can discuss certain issues without the involvement of other players.“MDC-A should realise that they are the only party missing from the framework.“They are welcome to join us.Sadc recognises Polad and so who are they to condemn the platform.“This country does not belong to ZANU-PF and MDC-A only, other parties constitute almost five percent, which is a big number,” said Professor Madhuku.

Political analyst Mr Tafadzwa Mugwadi said it was interesting that Mr Chamisa was pushing for a parallel process that excluded other players at a time when the Polad platform had been endorsed by progressive forces.“That only serves to show that he is aware that he is fast losing relevance even among his kingmakers in the vanguard.He should sort out his own problem than hiding behind the excuse of bilateral discussions with President Mnangagwa,” he said