Mnangagwa rejects Chamisa’s foreign mediator

PRESIDENT ED Mnangagwa has scoffed at MDC leader Nelson Chamisa’s attempts to rope in a foreign interlocutor to mediate in talks between them, the Daily News can report.

Chamisa is currently on a diplomatic offensive to regional countries, drumming up support for an internationally-backed mediator to break the country’s political logjam.

This came after Mnangagwa initiated talks involving all the candidates that participated in the July 30 presidential polls in an attempt to end the political discord that many believe could be contributing to the crisis ravaging the Zimbabwean economy.

Yesterday, presidential spokesperson George Charamba dismissed Chamisa’s effort, saying the MDC leader should see the light and join those who are already in talks.

“The solution is within the country and not outside. The problem is that he (Chamisa) is not part of the national dialogue. No solution will be found outside the country,” said Charamba, who is also the deputy chief secretary to the president.

While Mnangagwa has been persistent with his version of national dialogue, the initiative has struggled to gain traction.

Chamisa was the first to throw spanners into the works after he declined an invitation to participate in the talks saying they were conditions which had to be met before dialoguing. One of the conditions was that Mnangagwa must accept that he does not have the legitimacy to govern following the disputed July 30, 2018 election results.

More people have since abandoned the national dialogue, accusing the Zanu-PF leader of being insincere.