Former United States ambassador to Zimbabwe James McGee said First Lady Grace Mugabe “appeared to have aged significantly, looking much older than forty-four and much thinner than she appeared in recent photographs” when she attended a function in honour of visiting Swazi King Mswati III in June 2009.
The function was held at the Rainbow Towers and was attended by Vice-President Joice Mujuru and Deputy Prime Minister Arthur Mutambara among others. King Mswati was on his way to Victoria Falls to attend a COMESA meeting.
Full cable:
Viewing cable 09HARARE465, ZIMBABWEAN STATE DINNER HONORING THE KING OF SWAZILAND
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Reference ID |
Created |
Released |
Classification |
Origin |
VZCZCXRO2689
RR RUEHBZ RUEHDU RUEHJO RUEHMR RUEHRN
DE RUEHSB #0465 1561238
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 051238Z JUN 09
FM AMEMBASSY HARARE
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 4567
RUCNSAD/SOUTHERN AF DEVELOPMENT COMMUNITY COLLECTIVE
RUEHUJA/AMEMBASSY ABUJA 2298
RUEHAR/AMEMBASSY ACCRA 2864
RUEHDS/AMEMBASSY ADDIS ABABA 2983
RUEHRL/AMEMBASSY BERLIN 1422
RUEHBY/AMEMBASSY CANBERRA 2246
RUEHDK/AMEMBASSY DAKAR 2613
RUEHKM/AMEMBASSY KAMPALA 3031
RUEHNR/AMEMBASSY NAIROBI 5472
RUEHGV/USMISSION GENEVA 2155
RUZEHAA/CDR USEUCOM INTEL VAIHINGEN GE
RUEAIIA/CIA WASHDC
RUCPDOC/DEPT OF COMMERCE WASHDC
RUEHC/DEPT OF LABOR WASHDC
RUEATRS/DEPT OF TREASURY WASHDC
RHEFDIA/DIA WASHDC
RUZEJAA/JAC MOLESWORTH RAF MOLESWORTH UK
RHMFISS/JOINT STAFF WASHDC
RHEHAAA/NSC WASHDC
UNCLAS HARARE 000465
SENSITIVE
SIPDIS
AF/S FOR B. WALCH
DRL FOR N. WILETT
ADDIS ABABA FOR USAU
ADDIS ABABA FOR ACSS
NSC FOR SENIOR AFRICA DIRECTOR M. GAVIN
STATE PASS TO USAID FOR L.DOBBINS AND E.LOKEN
E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PHUM ASEC KDEM PGOV PREL ZI
SUBJECT: ZIMBABWEAN STATE DINNER HONORING THE KING OF SWAZILAND
¶1. (U) On June 3, President Robert Mugabe held a State dinner at the
Rainbow Towers Hotel in Harare in honor of visiting King Mswati III
of Swaziland. The dinner occurred before King Mswati departed to
Victoria Falls for the COMESA Summit. Mugabe thanked the King for
his support of the inclusive government and stressed the importance
of continued cooperation between the two countries, especially on
the economic front.
————————————-
Government of Zimbabwe Representation
————————————-
¶2. (SBU) Poloff attended the dinner along with other diplomats and
leading members of Zimbabwe’s busines community. Representing the
Government of Zimbabwe (GOZ) at the event were President Mugabe and
First Lady Grace Mugabe, Vice President Joyce Mujuru, Deputy Prime
Minister Arthur Mutambara, General Constantine Chiwenga and the
Mayor of Harare, Muchadeyi Masunda. King Mswati was accompanied by
his fourteenth wife, who sat next to the First Lady during the
dinner. (COMMENT: First Lady Mugabe appeared to have aged
significantly, looking much older than forty-four and much thinner
than she appeared in recent photographs. END COMMENT.)
——————————————— ——-
Continued Cooperation between Zimbabwe and Swaziland
——————————————— ——-
¶3. (U) During his ten-minute toast to King Mswati, Mugabe thanked
the King for his continued support of Zimbabwe. He highlighted two
recent visits the King had made to Zimbabwe, and thanked him for
coming to the swearing-in of Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai. He
stressed the need for African countries to work together through
trade to build their economies. Mugabe said that it was important
for Zimbabwe and Swaziland to continue to cooperate, especially on
the economic front, and to become partners in trade. Mugabe also
touted recent progress and cited the lifting of “unjustified” travel
warnings by western nations and the upcoming meetings between GOZ
officials and the United States Government as evidence of this
progress. During a brief speech, King Mswati also stressed the
importance of a strong relationship between Zimbabwe and Swaziland.
However, King Mswati’s speech also underlined the need for the
inclusive government to succeed and for stability in Zimbabwe.
——-
COMMENT
——-
¶4. (SBU) President Mugabe’s toast framed the current situation in
Zimbabwe in a positive light. Notably, Mugabe only mentioned the
West’s “illegal” sanctions once. Most of the people attending the
dinner were local businessmen and women and members of the
diplomatic community. However, because the COMESA Summit had
already begun, many key government officials were not present. END
Qalready begun, many key government officials were not present. END
COMMENT.
MCGEE
(48 VIEWS)
