U.S. Ambassador to Zimbabwe James McGee has ordered opposition MDC-T leader Morgan Tsvangirai to end his self-imposed exile and return home for the presidential election run-off, The Herald reported on Thursday.
McGee, speaking in South Africa on Tuesday, ordered Tsvangirai to end the self-imposed exile, according to media reports.
". . . he should be back showing his people that he cares every bit as much for them as they do for him," McGee said.
The order came after Zanu-PF dismissed claims by the opposition that the Government planned to assassinate him alongside 30 other top officials as a "fantasy".
There are also fears that Tsvangirai is losing campaign time while holed up in South Africa as Zanu-PF gears up for the run-offset for June 27.
Recently, Tsvangirai, who has been out of the country since shortly after March 29 claiming to be on a diplomatic offensive, suffered a dent to his diplomatic initiative when Malawian President Bingu wa Mutharika refused to meet him. Diplomatic sources in Malawi said Malawian authorities ordered Tsvangirai back to where he was flying from.
He had gone ahead to fly to Malawi following assurances by British authorities that President wa Mutharika would meet him. Independent MP Jonathan Moyo said: "You can't wish to be president of Zimbabwe by remote control."
John Makumbe, a political analyst with close ties to MDC-T, warned Tsvangirai would be seen as "less of a leader" than President Mugabe if he delayed his return. "If he doesn't come back, he will be demonstrating that he is fearful of (President) Mugabe, therefore, he is less of a leader than (President) Mugabe and that will have very serious implications on his qualities as a leader," the University of Zimbabwe lecturer said.
Source: Xinhua
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