That was the title of the diplomatic cable dispatched by the United States embassy in Harare on 26 August 2004, two days after the release of businessman James Makamba. All we can say is: No comment.
Full cable:
Viewing cable 04HARARE1435, FIRST BOYFRIEND” RELEASED
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This record is a partial extract of the original cable. The full text of the original cable is not available.
261335Z Aug 04
C O N F I D E N T I A L HARARE 001435
SIPDIS
AF/S FOR B. NEULING
NSC FOR SENIOR AFRICA DIRECTOR C. COURVELLE, D. TEITELBAUM
LONDON FOR C. GURNEY
PARIS FOR C. NEARY
NAIROBI FOR T. PFLAUMER
E.O. 12958: DECL: 08/26/2009
SUBJECT: “FIRST BOYFRIEND” RELEASED
Classified By: Political Officer Win Dayton under Section 1.5 b/d
¶1. (SBU) The GOZ released Politburo member and prominent
businessperson James Makamba from remand prison on August 24.
Makamba had been incarcerated since January on charges
relating to currency externalization, but was widely reputed
to have been put away for cuckolding the President. Regional
media coverage had been alluding increasingly to his putative
affair with the First Lady.
¶2. (C) Makamba family sources (Makamba is the uncle of an
FSN’s spouse) confided that retired General and ZANU-PF
heavyweight Solomon Mujuru had weighed in heavily on
Makamba’s behalf over the past few months. According to the
family, first Lady Grace also had called Makamba’s wife
repeatedly to apologize of late. Makamba had been held in
apalling conditions in remand prison, forced to endure
repeated exercises while naked and other circumstances he was
unwilling to discuss. He had regular close contact with
prominent fellow inmates Finance Minister Chris Kuruneri
(characterized as a “suicide candidate”) and recently
released safari magnate Emmanuel Fundira (also jailed for
currency externalization). The family is concerned that
Makamba may yet be re-arrested.
¶3. (C) COMMENT: The Makamba affair may not have played out
fully but already offers some lessons. First, the ruling
party can be even more heavy handed on its own than it is on
its critics — Makamba and Kuruneri have been in jail far
longer than any opposition figure. The saga also indicates
the extent to which the ruling party is wrapped around the
axle over non-substantive personal rivalries — Makamba’s
fate has absorbed far more attention from the state media and
party’s upper echelons than have many of the country’s myriad
real policy challenges. It further indicates the publicly
invisible Mujuru’s continuing influence, although the
objectives of its exercise in this case are unclear. And
although the media’s growing flirtation with the lurid may
have impelled Mugabe’s late lenience, the theme of
forgiveness and re-inclusion with diminished status is
consistent with Mugabe’s rhetoric and — depending on
political expedience — historical behavior. And a lesson
last but not least: don’t fuss with the First Lady.
Schultz
(285 VIEWS)
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