Movement for Democratic Change leader Morgan Tsvangirai’s right hand man Gandi Mudzingwa and youth chairman Nelson Chamisa were detained by police for six hours and were repeatedly asked to identify locations of MDC arms caches.
MDC advisor Clive Puzey insisted that the MDC did not have any arms caches. It only had a pistol for Tsvangirai’s protection which the police had confiscated.
Full cable:
Viewing cable 00HARARE5214, RAID ON MDC PARTY HEADQUARTERS CONTINUES ON
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This record is a partial extract of the original cable. The full text of the original cable is not available.
151108Z Sep 00
CONFIDENTIAL PTO3294
PAGE 01 HARARE 05214 151110Z
ACTION AF-00
INFO LOG-00 NP-00 AID-00 AMAD-00 CIAE-00 SMEC-00 INL-00
DODE-00 DOEE-00 SRPP-00 DS-00 EB-00 EUR-00 VC-00
H-01 TEDE-00 INR-00 IO-00 L-00 VCE-00 AC-01
NSAE-00 OIC-02 OMB-01 OPIC-01 PA-00 PM-00 PRS-00
ACE-00 P-00 SP-00 SSO-00 STR-00 TRSE-00 USIE-00
PMB-00 DSCC-00 PRM-01 DRL-02 G-00 NFAT-00 SAS-00
/009W
——————85AD5C 151110Z /38
FM AMEMBASSY HARARE
TO SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 7119
INFO SOUTHERN AFRICAN DEVELOPMENT COMMUNITY
AMEMBASSY LONDON
AMEMBASSY PARIS
NSC WASHDC
C O N F I D E N T I A L HARARE 005214
SIPDIS
NSC FOR SENIOR AFRICA DIRECTOR GAYLE SMITH
LONDON FOR CHARLES GURNEY
PARIS FOR BISA WILLIAMS
E.O. 12958: DECL: 09/15/10
SUBJECT: RAID ON MDC PARTY HEADQUARTERS CONTINUES ON
SEPTEMBER 15
CONFIDENTIAL
PAGE 02 HARARE 05214 151110Z
REF: HARARE 5187
CLASSIFIED BY AMBASSADOR MCDONALD. REASONS: 1.5 (B) AND
(D).
SUMMARY
——-
¶1. (U) ACTION REQUEST – PLEASE SEE PARA 7.
¶2. (C) AFTER SEARCHING THE MDC HEADQUARTERS ON SEPTEMBER
14 (REFTEL), HEAVILY ARMED POLICE EXPANDED THEIR SEARCH
TO TWO OTHER MDC OFFICES, ALSO ON SEPTEMBER 14,
INCLUDING THE ONE CONTAINING THE OFFICE OF PARTY
PRESIDENT MORGAN TSVANGIRAI. MDC LAWYERS PREVENTED THE
POLICE FROM TAKING AWAY DOCUMENTS, POINTING OUT THAT
THEIR SEARCH WARRANT ONLY PERMITTED A SEARCH FOR “ARMS OF
WAR.”
¶3. (C) ACCORDING TO MDC ADVISOR CLIVE PUZEY, TWO SENIOR
MDC OFFICIALS — GANDI MUDZINGWA, TSVANGIRAI’S RIGHT-HAND
MAN AND NELSON CHAMISA, CHAIRMAN FOR YOUTH — WERE
DETAINED AT HARARE’S CENTRAL POLICE STATION FOR SIX HOURS
ON SEPTEMBER 14, BUT WERE RELEASED AT 10:00 P.M. THEY
WERE NOT BEATEN OR MISTREATED, BUT WERE ASKED REPEATEDLY
TO IDENTIFY THE LOCATIONS OF MDC WEAPONS CACHES. PUZEY
INSISTED THAT THE MDC HAS NO ARMS CACHES — IT HAD ONLY
A PISTOL FOR THE PROTECTION OF TSVANGIRAI, WHICH THE
POLICE CONFISCATED BEFORE THE JUNE ELECTIONS. POLICE
ALSO SEARCHED THE HOME OF THE PARENTS OF AN MDC MEMBER OF
PARLIAMENT AND THE OFFICES OF THE ZIMBABWE FRANCHISE OF
CONFIDENTIAL
PAGE 03 HARARE 05214 151110Z
ERICSSON’S TELEPHONE COMPANY, WHOSE OWNERS ARE MDC
SUPPORTERS. ACCORDING TO AN MDC PRESS RELEASE, TWO OTHER
MDC EMPLOYEES WERE ALSO DETAINED AND RELEASED — THE
CHIEF OF SECURITY AND A SECURITY OFFICER.
¶4. (C) LATE ON SEPTEMBER 14, THE HIGH COURT GRANTED AN
INJUNCTION STOPPING FURTHER POLICE ACTION. ACCORDING TO
PUZEY, HOWEVER, THE POLICE, AGAIN HEAVILY ARMED, RETURNED
TO MDC HEADQUARTERS AT 7:00 A.M. ON SEPTEMBER 15 WITH A
NEW WARRANT. THIS ONE APPARENTLY AUTHORIZES A SEARCH FOR
DOCUMENTS RELATING TO “WEAPONS OF WAR,” AND, AS OF THE
WRITING OF THIS CABLE, POLICE ARE RIFLING THROUGH THE
MDC’S FILES.
COMMENT
——-
¶5. (C) THE GOVERNMENT IS CURRENTLY BEING SUBJECTED TO
SERIOUS AND CRITICAL PUBLIC SCRUTINY AND APPEARS TO BE
INCREASINGLY FED UP WITH IT. THE POLICE ACTIONS OF THE
LAST TWO DAYS, HOWEVER, ARE AN OUTRAGEOUS ATTEMPT TO
INTIMIDATE A LEGITIMATE, POPULAR OPPOSITION PARTY AND
HAVE DISTURBING IMPLICATIONS FOR THE POTENTIAL GROWTH OF
DEMOCRATIC GOVERNANCE HERE. PUZEY SPECULATED THAT THE
RECENT EMBARRASSMENT OF ZANU-PF MP — AND MINISTER OF
RURAL RESOURCES AND WATER DEVELOPMENT — JOYCE MUJURU ON
THE PARLIAMENT FLOOR BY AN MDC MP COULD HAVE SPARKED THE
POLICE CRACKDOWN. ACCORDING TO PUZEY, AN MDC MP PUBLICLY
TOOK MUJURU TO TASK FOR FAILING TO RESPOND TO HER
CONSTITUENTS’ LONGSTANDING REQUEST FOR THE BUILDING OF A
BRIDGE. MUJURU’S HUSBAND, “REX” MUJURU, IS A RETIRED
CONFIDENTIAL
PAGE 04 HARARE 05214 151110Z
GENERAL WHO STILL RETAINS A GREAT DEAL OF INFLUENCE WITH
SENIOR GOVERNMENT OFFICIALS, INCLUDING PRESIDENT MUGABE,
AND COULD HAVE PRESSED FOR THE POLICE ACTION AS
RETRIBUTION.
¶6. (C) AMBASSADOR MCDONALD HAS REQUESTED A MEETING WITH
HOME AFFAIRS MINISTER JOHN NKOMO, WHOSE MINISTRY OVERSEES
THE POLICE. THE AMBASSADOR IS ASKING LIKE-MINDED
AMBASSADORS TO JOIN HIM IN THIS MEETING.
¶7. (C) ACTION REQUEST: WE RECOMMEND THAT THE DEPARTMENT
SPOKESMAN CONSIDER READING A STATEMENT FROM THE PODIUM
TODAY DEPLORING THIS BALD-FACED ATTEMPT TO INTIMIDATE THE
LEGITIMATE POLITICAL OPPOSITION. A/S RICE WILL ALSO
WANT, IN HER UPCOMING MEETING WITH FM MUDENGE,
TO EXPRESS SERIOUS U.S. CONCERNS ABOUT THESE DEVELOPMENTS
OF THE LAST TWO DAYS.
MCDONALD
CONFIDENTIAL
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