Did the United States at one time prefer Mugabe over Nkomo and Muzorewa to lead Zimbabwe?

The United States and President Robert Mugabe may be archenemies today but a British journalist who was covering Africa for the London Observer clamed way back in 1976 that he had seen a secret document in which the United States recommended Britain to back Robert Mugabe as a compromise leader between the Abel Muzorewa and Joshua Nkomo factions.

A United States embassy official, however, said he felt that the document was a forgery because he considered Mugabe a “has been” who would not play any key role in any Rhodesian solution.

According to one of the diplomatic cables released by Wikileaks recently, Observer correspondent David Martin gave British Foreign Office special adviser on Africa Denis Grennan, a copy of an excerpt of an alleged United States State Department document authorised by Mulcahy recommending that Britain support Robert Mugabe as the comprise leader in the Rhodesian settlement.

Edward Mulcahy was Deputy Secretary of State for African Affairs at the time.

Grennan did not believe Mulacahy had authored the document and cautioned Martin against writing a story without verifying it.

A United States official wrote: “I believe we may be confronted here with a possible forgery case.  I have neither drafted nor approved any piece of paper proposing any particular solution to Rhodesian problem (at least for past 10 years) much less any paper singling out Robert Mugabe — whom I consider a has been – for any key role in any Rhodesian solution.”

Mugabe, however, became the key to the Rhodesian solution and won the independence elections by an overwhelming majority but is now at loggerheads with the United States which imposed sanctions on Zimbabwe 13 years ago.

Full cable:

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