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Nyemudzai Kakore Herald Correspondent
The British embassy in Zimbabwe on Tuesday officially rejected claims by fugitive former Higher and Tertiary Education, Science and Technology Development Minister Professor Jonathan Moyo that London was biased in favour of President Mnangagwa’s administration as the country prepares for elections later this year.

The embassy on its official Twitter handle @UKinZimbabwe also dismissed claims made by BBC HardTalk anchor Stephen Sackur during an interview with MDC-T president Mr Nelson Chamisa that ballot papers for the forthcoming polls had already been printed.

“In the last few days we’ve seen a fair amount of confusion regarding opposition leader Nelson Chamisa’s appearance on BBC HardTalk. In particular, Zimbabweans have been upset by a suggestion from the presenter that ballot papers for the forthcoming polls have already been printed,” said the embassy.

“As far as the UK embassy in Harare is aware, the ballot papers have not yet been printed. We aren’t privy to any information to the contrary. We’ve made it very clear that the UK does not support any particular faction, party or individual in the forthcoming Zimbabwe elections.”

The embassy said it only wanted to see free and fair elections in Zimbabwe “so that Zimbabwe can get back on the path to having its relations with the international community normalised. That surely is the bright future that Zimbabweans fully deserve.”

The embassy also rubbished claims that they influence questions the BBC asks of its interviewees. It said BBC questions were framed based on their own teams’ research.

More to follow…