All the Wikileaks cables on Zimbabwe

151-Tsvangirai wanted to be President with Mugabe as Prime Minister- Wikileaks

Movement for Democratic Change leader Morgan Tsvangirai told members of the Southern African Development Community Troika in Sandton Johannesburg that he was not prepared to play second fiddle to President Robert Mugabe but would instead like to become President with Mugabe as Prime Minister.

 

152-Zuma asks how West can expect cooperation from Mugabe when they are so critical of him

African National Congress leader Jacob Zuma asked the how the West could expect Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe to cooperate with them when they were so critical of him. Zuma posed the question to then United States President George Bush, National Security advisor Stephen Hadley, Secretary Condoleezza Rice, USAID administrator Henrietta Fore when he met them in Washington in October 2008. He was not yet South African president.

 

153-SA refuses to bow down to pressure to force Mugabe to step down

Despite the stalemate following the signing of the Global Political Agreement which was to usher Zimbabwe’s government of national unity, the South African government showed no inclination at all to force President Robert Mugabe to step down.

 

154-Sekeramayi is presidential material-Wikileaks

Security Minister Sydney Sekeramayi, who is one of the longest serving cabinet ministers, was identified way back in the 1980s as one of the leading contenders to succeed President Robert Mugabe. According to one of the cables released by Wikileaks, Sekeramayi was an impressive individual in conversation and appeared to be both brighter and more articulate than most of his colleagues.

 

155-Ministers demand cut on oils deals with South Africa-Wikileaks

Some unnamed government ministers wrote to the South African power company Eskom and oil company Sasol demanding a cut on all business deals between Zimbabwe and South Africa because they operated businesses that could act as middlemen- one of the cables released by Wikileaks says.

 

156-Cabinet reshuffle shows power of hardliners and military- Wikileaks

A cabinet reshuffle on 10 February 2004 which saw only one minister being dismissed was viewed by United States embassy officials as an “anti-climatic disappointment” which suggested “immobility and paralysis to the extreme”. According to a cable released by Wikileaks the reshuffle suggested “continuing hard-liner influence and military presence in political circles” but was not likely to signal a significant shift in the direction or quality of government policy.

 

157-Life under ZANU-PF has been one long nightmare

This was the headline of the Daily News in the run-up to the 2002 presidential elections after Zimbabwe African National Union- Patriotic Front Secretary for Administration Didymus Mutasa said the party would not cede the reins of power for any reason. The Daily News comment is contained in one of the diplomatic cables released by Wikileaks. The cable, dispatched on 9 March 2002, reads in part:

 

158-Mutasa says life is normal in Zimbabwe

Zimbabwe African National Union-Patriotic Front Secretary for Administration Didymus Mutasa said eight years ago everything was normal in Zimbabwe and anybody who thought otherwise should have his head examined.

 

159-ZANU-PF’s disdain for parliament

The Zimbabwe African National Union- Patriotic Front did not have a lot of respect for Parliament despite its majority in the House and instead it preferred to use statutory instruments to pass legislation as these could be effective immediately without having to go through the rigorous process that bills had to do through.

 

160-Bennett floors Chinamasa and Mutasa

Many observers were abhorred at Movement for Democratic Change treasurer Roy Bennett’s behaviour when he floored two Zimbabwe African National Union-Patriotic Front Ministers in Parliament but an equal number were proud of him, according to a diplomatic cable released by Wikileaks.

 

161-Mutasa says no to US election observers

Zimbabwe did not want United States or British election observers because they applied double standards against the country, Didymus Mutasa who was the Zimbabwe African National Union-Patriotic Front secretary for External Affairs at the time told US embassy officials at his office at the party headquarters.

 

162-US embassy wanted reward Josiah Hungwe for providing useful information- Wikileaks

United States embassy officials in Harare wanted former Masvingo provincial governor Josiah Hungwe to be removed from the United States sanctions list because he had provided the embassy with useful information in the past and was now on the “outs” within the Zimbabwe African National Union-Patriotic Front.

 

163-Chombo among those enriching themselves- Wikileaks

Local Government Minister Ignatius Chombo is named as one of the Zimbabwe African National Union- Patriotic Front hardliners who were either enriching themselves from the government’s interventionist policies way back in 2003 or were unwilling to put pressure on Mugabe to make a change.

 

164-Chombo among ZANU-PF officials who got multiple farms- Wikileaks

Leaked documents that were circulating in March 2003 listed Local Government Minister Ignatius Chombo as one of the top officials of the Zimbabwe African National Union- Patriotic Front who had received more than one farm under the controversial land reform programme.

 

165-Why the US is interested in the land issue in Zimbabwe

The United States was interested in the land issue in Zimbabwe because some of its citizens lost land to the government without any compensation even though in some cases the citizens had bought the farms after the government had declared no interest.

 

166-Mudzuri says Chombo is undermining MDC

The former mayor of Harare Elias Mudzuri who was suspended from his post by Local Government Minister Ignatius Chombo told United States embassy officials that Chombo was trying to undermine the Movement for Democratic Change by persecuting him so that he could seize control of municipalities that the Zimbabwe African National Union- Patriotic Front could not win through the ballot.

 

167-US was aware Chombo had two wives five years before divorce

United States embassy officials in Harare were aware that Local Government Minister Ignatius Chombo had two “wives” almost five years before his acrimonious divorce with his first wife Marian. Both wives were on the United States sanctions list way back in 2005.

 

168-Mugabe outmanoeuvred MDC to increase size of cabinet

President Robert Mugabe outmanoeuvred the two factions of the Movement for Democratic Change in naming the new government because his Zimbabwe African National Union-Patriotic Front ended up with more ministers than the two MDC factions.

 

169-Chombo conspicuous by his absence at Tsvangirai’s first big event

Several Zimbabwe African National Union-Patriotic Front senior officials, including Local Government Minister Ignatius Chombo failed to attend Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai’s launch of his 100-day plan to revive the country’s economy. This was despite the fact that Tsvangirai had allocated three of the five clusters that he wanted to spearhead the revival to ZANU-PF ministers.

 

170-Chombo protects “corrupt” MDC councillors

Local Government Minister Ignatius Chombo refused to fire Movement for Democratic Change councillors from Chitungwiza after the party had dismissed all 23 for corruption, breach of the party’s charter and insubordination. Chombo said he was not going to dismiss them because he did not want to meddle in party affairs, but this was probably meant to spite the MDC.

 

171-Did Mutasa cost Gula-Ndebele his job?

Zimbabwe African National Union-Patriotic Front secretary for Administration Didymus Mutasa might have cost former Attorney-General Sobusa Gula-Ndebele his job when he was Minister of State Security. Gula-Ndebele tried to prosecute Justice Minister Patrick Chinamasa for allegedly trying to dissuade witnesses from testifying in an assault case against Mutasa.

 

172-US embassy not spared during economic collapse

The United States embassy in Harare was not spared during the economic collapse of the country according to a cable dispatched by the embassy in January 2008. The cable, released by Wikileaks, says the free-fall in Harare’s public service delivery was severely taxing the embassy’s The International Cooperative Administrative Support Services budgets and staffing, which State Department workload data showed were the leanest in Africa despite Harare’s unprecedented rate of peacetime collapse.

 

173-Simba Makoni or Jonathan Moyo-who was responsible for postponement of nomination date?

New theories are now being floated as to why the government postponed the nomination date and the voter registration for the 2008 elections by a week to 15 February. The government said it postponed the nomination date to allow political parties to have more time to submit names of their candidates.

 

174-How the US viewed the MDC victory in 2008

The United States embassy in Harare viewed the 2008 election victory by the two factions of the Movement for Democratic Change as something that would have far-reaching implications as the two were going to control the House of Assembly. “If Tsvangirai ultimately becomes president, and assuming support of Mutambara formation MPs, he will be able to gain legislative support for economic and political reform,” embassy officials said in a diplomatic cable dispatched after the results.

 

175-Tsvangirai galvanises short-lived MDC united front

The superb showing by the Morgan Tsvangirai faction of the Movement for Democratic Change in both the parliamentary and presidential elections of 2008, which saw the party pip the Zimbabwe African National Union- Patriotic Front in the lower House for the first time in 28 years and Tsvangirai beat Robert Mugabe though failing to win an outright victory, led to wide speculation that the MDC-T had teamed up with its junior partner to save MDC- Mutambara bigwigs who had been clobbered in Bulawayo by MDC-T candidates.

 

176-US recommends that Mutasa be placed on UN sanctions list

Didymus Mutasa was listed as one of the 14 Zimbabwe African National Union-Patriotic Front senior officials who should be placed on United Nations sanctions because of his activities to undermine democracy.

 

177-Mutambara says we are smarter than the Australians and Americans

The leader of the smaller faction of the Movement for Democratic Change Arthur Mutambara said Zimbabwe’s opposition leaders were smarter than the Australians and the Americans.

 

178-Unelected councillor is “elected” council chairman

David Mutasa a cousin of then Security Minister Didymus Mutasa lost the 2008 Makoni rural council elections but appointed himself councillor and was then “elected” chairman of the council, a cable released by Wikileaks says.

 

179-Mutasa says SADC Tribunal was day dreaming

Security and Lands Minister Didymus Mutasa said the Southern African Development Community Tribunal, which had ruled in favour of compensation for white farmers whose land had been expropriated by the government, must have been daydreaming and Zimbabwe would not abide by the ruling.

 

180-Unproductive year for parliament

2008 was one of the most unproductive years on record for the Parliament of Zimbabwe, according to a cable just released by Wikileaks. Only three bills were passed- all in January. The House of Assembly only sat for 13 days and the Senate for 11 days.

 

181-Chombo, Border Gezi and Chanetsa compete to gain favour with Mugabe

Local Government Minister Ignatius Chombo, Mashonaland Central governor Border Gezi and Mashonaland West governor Peter Chanetsa embarked on an unprecedented wave of violence in the run-up to the 2000 parliamentary elections to gain favour with President Robert Mugabe, a cable released by Wikileaks says.

 

182-Chombo described as a non-entity in Mugabe’s cabinet

Local Government Minister Ignatius Chombo was described as a non-entity in President Robert Mugabe’s 2000 cabinet which saw him bring in young technocrats while ditching some of his loyalists. The technocrats included Simba Makoni, Nkosana Moyo,Joseph Made and Jonathan Moyo. The two economic ministers Makoni and Nkosana Moyo were viewed as “attractive ambassadors for Zimbabwe to the world”.

 

183-US ambassador describes Mugabe as a strategic thinker

Former United States ambassador to Zimbabwe Tom McDonald described President Robert Mugabe as an enigmatic if not mercurial figure who despite the economic problems the country was facing had not lost his edge as a strategic thinker.

 

184-Commercial farmers go for broke

The Commercial Farmers Union filed a 1000-page lawsuit against President Robert Mugabe and his government on 18 September 2000 in the forlorn hope that the lawsuit could at least allow them to obtain financing for the coming season

 

185-Chombo says get your own plot- we will sort things out later

Local Government Minister Ignatius Chombo told peasants who had invaded commercial farms to in the Darwendale area to demarcate their own plots because the government did not have technicians to do so. “We will have to attend to that later go ahead and resettle yourselves in time for the rains,” he reportedly said.

 

186-Delta boss planned deal to enable government to buy up 400 farms

Delta Corporation boss Patrick Rooney told United States ambassador to Zimbabwe Tom McDonald 10 years ago that his company was arranging a credit facility that would enable the government to buy 300 to 400 commercial farms that had been designated for acquisition.

 

187-Did Chombo make an about-turn on land reform?

Local Government Minister Ignatius Chombo is reported to have promised United Nations Development Programme resident representative Victor Angelo that new invasions of commercial farms would stop, “demonstrators” on unlisted and foreign owned farms would be removed, and the war veterans’ violence and death threats would cease.

 

188-Chombo tells diplomats land reform is irreversible -it is unhealthy to continue debating the issue

Local Government Minister Ignatius Chombo told selected diplomats on 21 December 2000 that land reform in Zimbabwe was irreversible so it was unhealthy to continue debating the issue.

 

189-MDC challenges Mugabe presidential decree

There was keen interest from diplomats and other political watchers when the Movement for Democratic Change challenged a decree issued by President Robert Mugabe prohibiting the nullification of the election of any Member of Parliament. The case was heard by the Supreme Court on 19 January 2001.

 

190-Farmers say Mugabe does not want to destroy agriculture but to keep them out of politics

Some members of the Commercial Farmers Union said they did not believe that President Robert Mugabe’s goal was to destroy commercial farming but rather it was to intimidate them so that they would be so traumatised that they would never support an opposition party.

 

191-Fast-track land reform divides white farmers

The concerted fast-track land reform that the government had embarked on since 2000 had divided white farmers by February 2001 with some arguing that they should work with the government to break the impasse while others said the government was not interested in any compromise because as far as the government was concerned land was political.

 

192-Mugabe so unpopular that he needs 250 000 to canvass for him

A former legislator for Chimanimani Michael Mataure told United States embassy officials in February 2001 that President Robert Mugabe had become so unpopular that he would have to deploy 250 000 people to canvass for him to win the 2002 presidential elections but his party simply did not have the resources to mount such a campaign.

 

193-CFU director proposed sanctions on individuals rather than on Zimbabwe

The idea to have sanctions targeted at individuals including President Robert Mugabe rather than on Zimbabwe as a country might have come from Commercial Farmers Union director David Hasluck.

 

194-Iden Wetherell says Mnangagwa is one of the most intelligent men in government

Iden Wetherell, a senior editor at The Independent and widely believed to be the writer of the satirical Muckraker, told United States embassy officials in Harare 10 years ago that Emmerson Mnangagwa was a “nimble operator” and “one of the most intelligent men in government”.

 

195-Chombo announces ultra fast-track land reform

Local Government Minister Ignatius Chombo announced at the beginning of May 2001 that the government was introducing an ultra fast-track land reform programme that would see more than 35 000 people resettled by the end of the month.

 

196-Mujuru, Ndlovu ordered Chinotimba to stay out Bulawayo mayoral elections

Former army commander Solomon Mujuru and Zimbabwe African National Union-Patriotic Front political commissar Sikhanyiso Ndlovu ordered war veterans leader Joseph Chinotimba and his militia to stay away from the Bulawayo mayoral elections campaign, according to a diplomatic cable released by Wikileaks.

 

197-What the hell is this?

In one of the vaguest cables released by Wikileaks, the United States embassy in Harare sent out a list of names under a cable entitled: Education allowances for Zimbabwe- Year 2007- Harare 574. It is not clear what the list was about but The Insider found it while searching for war veterans leader Jabulani Sibanda. It is not even clear whether the Sibanda in the cable is the war veterans leader?

 

198-Jabulani Sibanda loses favour with ZANU-PF bigwigs

War veterans leader Jabulani Sibanda surprised everyone when he spearheaded the Million Men and Women March set for Harare to show support for President Robert Mugabe’s candidacy for the 2008 elections because he had been expelled from the Zimbabwe African National Union- patriotic Front.

 

199-Dabengwa biggest loser in Bulawayo violence

Former Zimbabwe African National Union-Patriotic Front politburo member Dumiso Dabengwa, now leader of the Zimbabwe African People’s Union, was the biggest loser from the violence that erupted in Bulawayo in November 2001 and saw the offices of the opposition Movement for Democratic Change being razed in a fire and his colleague Sikhanyiso Ndlovu’s college being gutted by fire.

 

200-Mnangagwa Zimbabwe’s Gorbachev!

Pearson Mbalekwa, one of the Zimbabwe African national Union-Patriotic Front legislators who broke away from the party amid speculation that he would form another with Information Minister Jonathan Moyo with the backing of and ZANU-PF politburo member Emmerson Mnangagwa, described Mnangagwa as Zimbabwe’s Gorbachev.

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