Chamisa and Gandi Mudzingwa quizzed over arms caches

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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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

TAGS: PGOV PHUM ZI

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

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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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