Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe on Tuesday criticized United States Ambassador to Zimbabwe Christopher Dell of meddling in the country's internal affairs.

When asked to comment on Dell's recent utterances that Zimbabwe 's economic problems were not a result of drought and sanctions but of corrupt management by the government, Mugabe replied in his usual tart-tongue reserved for errant westerners that Dell was destined for hell.

"Tell him (Dell) that I can not spell 'Dell' but 'hell'. That's what I know, and that he might be there one of these days," he said.

He said this just after coming out of a meeting with visiting former Malaysian prime minister, Mahathir Mohamad, at State House.

Following the statement by Dell in Mutare last week, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs has said it will summon the envoy this week to explain his stance.

The United States is one of the western countries that have ganged up with Britain to demonize and punish Zimbabwe for repossessing land from the minority whites for redistribution to the landless black majority.

The US has since passed a punitive law, the Zimbabwe Democracy and Economic Recovery Act, aimed at punishing the country through economic and political sanctions.

Source: Xinhua