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Chronicle Reporter
THE United States embassy in Harare has been forced to deny that it is sponsoring a new social media protest movement similar to the “Arab Spring” and mobilising around the hashtag #ThisFlag.

Information Communication Technology Minister Supa Mandiwanzira and his Higher and Tertiary Education, Science and Technology counterpart Professor Jonathan Moyo say the anti-government movement which has as its public face the evangelical preacher, Evan Mawarire, is being sponsored by Western countries to destabilise Zimbabwe.

It has attracted support from other preachers, notably Shingi Munyeza and Bishop Tudor Bismark who have urged Zimbabweans to say “enough is enough” and resist government moves to ease the liquidity crisis through the introduction of bond notes.

US ambassador Harry Thomas and the European Union ambassador to Zimbabwe have tweeted excitedly in apparent support of the movement whose purported mission is to force the government to “listen to the people’s voice”.

On May 6, Thomas met at his residence with prolific social media users and a select group of journalists, prompting Prof Moyo to post a picture of the group on Twitter, stating: “#DirtyHarry #US envoy @harrykthomasjr1 with some of his #ThisFlag warriors at his residence two weeks ago. #OurFlag!”

He followed up by saying Mawarire, whom he dubbed a “pastor for hire”, should be ignored because “the issue is #DirtyHarry his paymaster aka US envoy @harrykthomasjr1.”

He added in another tweet: “Two meddlesome US and EU ambassadors with a moneybag and a well known #Pastor4Hire led to #ThisFlag. Shame. #OurFlag!”

Mawarire appeared on ZiFM’s The Platform programme on Monday, following which he was confronted by Mandiwanzira who told him he was being used by foreigners to abuse Cabinet ministers and to destabilise Zimbabwe.

Mandiwanzira, appearing to reference an earlier retweet by Prof Moyo of Mawarire saying “everybody pays” for his services, suggested Mawarire was only in it for the money with no care what his actions did to Zimbabwe’s prevailing peace.

Mawarire, the minister pointed out, was happy to accept a donation from him of 70 chairs for his church and had been MC at the wedding of Prof Moyo’s daughter yet he claimed in the ZiFM interview that he had taken his protest online because ministers were not accessible. The only issue he ever brought up in their conversations, said Mandiwanzira, was his desire to meet President Mugabe — now the target of his social media rage.

“Shocked by a pastor who lies. Have met Pastor Ivan #ThisFlag many times. Only thing he has ever asked of me is to facilitate ‘just a hand-shake’ with HE President Mugabe!,” Mandiwanzira said.

Prof Moyo said the movement appeared designed to mimic the Arab Spring which saw US-sponsored uprisings in East Africa topple governments but leaving those countries in turmoil.

“US envoys ignited social media revolutions in Tunisia, Egypt and Libya whose common outcome was bloodshed,” the minister said.

Yesterday, the US embassy in Harare was forced to distance itself from Mawarire’s campaign and to deny that the US envoy was inciting public disorder in Zimbabwe.

“For the record, Ambassador Thomas met with diverse social media voices on May 6 for the first time to hear their stories, and none included #ThisFlag,” the embassy said in a statement posted on Twitter.

It added: “By the way, to confirm, May 6 comes after April 20 [when #ThisFlag was launched].”

In a May 15 Twitter post, Thomas posted: “Wonder if Zimbabwe’s #ThisFlag will spread to the US and other nations.”

EU ambassador Phillipe Van Damme, also on the same day, retweeted a picture of two men with the Zimbabwe flag at a sports event purportedly in Singapore and then wrote: “#ThisFlag.”

The Zanu-PF Youth League has now resolved to “reclaim the flag” at its Million Man March on Africa Day next Wednesday in Harare. Youths will hit back with the hashtag #OurFlag with thousands of flags being waved during their march and subsequent address by President Mugabe.

The Youth League says it has mobilised transport to ferry 100,000 youths, Women’s League members as well as war veterans per province to Harare in a huge show of support for President Mugabe.