Former Public Service Minister Nicholas Goche, currently Minister of Transport, said he did not believe that Simba Makoni could challenge President Robert Mugabe in the 2008 elections because he was a coward.
Goche told United States ambassador to Zimbabwe James McGee that the Zimbabwe African National Union-Patriotic Front was entering the elections as a united party.
He said Makoni was a coward who talked big to the press but remained silent at party meetings.
Full cable:
Viewing cable 08HARARE85, AMBASSADOR MEETING WITH GOZ MINISTER AND MUGABE
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Reference ID |
Created |
Released |
Classification |
Origin |
VZCZCXRO6012
RR RUEHDU RUEHMR RUEHRN
DE RUEHSB #0085/01 0311108
ZNY CCCCC ZZH
R 311108Z JAN 08
FM AMEMBASSY HARARE
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 2440
INFO RUCNSAD/SOUTHERN AFRICAN DEVELOPMENT COMMUNITY
RUEHAR/AMEMBASSY ACCRA 1750
RUEHDS/AMEMBASSY ADDIS ABABA 1876
RUEHRL/AMEMBASSY BERLIN 0468
RUEHBY/AMEMBASSY CANBERRA 1153
RUEHDK/AMEMBASSY DAKAR 1510
RUEHKM/AMEMBASSY KAMPALA 1932
RUEHNR/AMEMBASSY NAIROBI 4361
RUEAIIA/CIA WASHDC
RUFOADA/JAC MOLESWORTH RAF MOLESWORTH UK
RHMFISS/EUCOM POLAD VAIHINGEN GE
RHEFDIA/DIA WASHDC
RUEHGV/USMISSION GENEVA 1003
RHEHAAA/NSC WASHDC
C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 HARARE 000085
SIPDIS
SIPDIS
AF/S FOR S. HILL,
ADDIS ABABA FOR USAU
ADDIS ABABA FOR ACSS
STATE PASS TO USAID FOR E. LOKEN AND L. DOBBINS
STATE PASS TO NSC FOR SENIOR AFRICA DIRECTOR B. PITTMAN
E.O. 12958: DECL: 01/30/2018
SUBJECT: AMBASSADOR MEETING WITH GOZ MINISTER AND MUGABE
INSIDER NICHOLAS GOCHE
Classified By: Amb. James D. McGee for reasons 1.4 (b) and (d)
——-
SUMMARY
——-
¶1. (C) The Ambassador met January 28 with Nicholas Goche,
the Minister of Public Service, Labor, and Social Welfare.
Goche is also one of the ZANU-PF negotiators in the SADC
mediation process. He promised the Ambassador he would
attempt to facilitate a one-on-one meeting between the
Ambassador and President Robert Mugabe. On substance, Goche
said the SADC mediation was finished, and ZANU-PF was
focusing on the upcoming elections which it was confident of
winning. He stated international observation was a
possibility, but Mugabe would make the decision. ZANU-PF
remained united as a party, although it was riven by
corruption. Goche believed reengagement with the West was
desirable, but the land issue remained an obstacle,
particularly with the UK. He questioned why the U.S. had
refused to deal with Mugabe, while engaging African despots
such as Sudan’s Bashir. END SUMMARY.
¶2. (C) The Ambassador’s meeting took place at the home of
Fred Mutanda, the president of the American Business
Association of Zimbabwe, whose business dealings include
ownership of local Western Union and Volkswagen franchises.
The meeting was friendly, and began with a discussion of the
Washington Redskins, whom Goche rooted for after opening up
the Zimbabwean Embassy in Washington as a junior diplomat in
¶1980.
—————————-
Possible Meeting with Mugabe
—————————-
¶3. (C) The Ambassador told Goche he wanted to meet
one-on-one with Mugabe to deliver a personal message to
Mugabe. Referring to a prior meeting the Ambassador had had
with Minister for Lands and State Security Didymus Mutasa and
CIO Director Happyton Bonyongwe, Goche said they were
obstructionist and had recommended against a meeting between
the Ambassador and Mugabe. Goche said he himself thought
dialogue was important and he would attempt to facilitate
such a meeting.
——————————————— —
SADC Finished, ZANU-PF Confident in Election Win
——————————————— —
¶4. (C) Goche told the Ambassador that although there might
be one more SADC mediation meeting for public consumption,
the SADC negotiations were effectively finished. ZANU-PF was
confident it would win the March election and would consider
allowing international observers. The party had nothing to
hide and would welcome early observation to verify that the
run-up to the elections was fair. In response to the
Ambassador’s question as to the meaning of “international,”
Goche said this would include the U.S. Embassy–but not the
UK–and could include the Carter Center (proposed by the
Ambassador in meetings with UNDP and with Mutasa and
Bonyongwe). The Zimbabwean Cabinet was now discussing the
issue of observers; Goche stressed that he and other
ministers were supportive of international observation, but
that Mugabe would make the final decision.
————–
ZANU-PF United
————–
¶5. (C) Goche averred that ZANU-PF was entering the elections
HARARE 00000085 002 OF 002
as a united party. Referring to reports that Simba Makoni
would lead an anti-Mugabe movement either within the party or
as a “third way,” Goche stated that Makoni was a “coward” who
talked big to the press but remained silent at party
meetings. Goche acknowledged that there was significant
corruption within ZANU-PF.
————————————
On Reengagement with the U.S. and UK
————————————
¶6. (C) Pointing out that Zimbabwe had been a long-time ally
of the U.S., and had even supplied troops to Somalia in the
early 1990s, Goche lamented the deterioration in relations
between the U.S. and Zimbabwe. International reengagement
was important to correcting Zimbabwe’s economy. Goche did
not blame Zimbabwe’s economic plight on the bugaboo of
sanctions, but said he could not understand why the U.S.
engaged in dialogue with leaders such as Bashir in Sudan,
Kibaki in Kenya and Meles in Ethiopia, who he implied were
worse than Mugabe, but not with Mugabe. Why did the U.S.
send negotiators to North Korea, he asked rhetorically, but
refuse to negotiate with Zimbabwe?
¶7. (C) Implying that the land issue was the root of all
troubles, Goche said there would be no give on the question
of GOZ compensation to white farmers. This was a nuclear
issue between Zimbabwe and the UK and there would be no way
forward with the British until it was sorted out.
——-
COMMENT
——-
¶8. (C) Goche’s protests to the contrary, his comments about
Mutasa and Bonyongwe, as well as comments about others within
ZANU-PF, are indicative of divisions within the party. For
now, however, Mugabe has been able to mask these differences,
and it appears ZANU-PF will present a united front in the
March elections.
¶9. (C) Goche is close to Mugabe–he was a former Minister of
State Security and was selected by Mugabe to represent him in
the SADC negotiations. We will continue to pursue contact
with Goche and other ministers both as a window on ZANU-PF,
and to deliver our message that the U.S. is ready to help the
people of Zimbabwe after there is fundamental political and
economic change. End Comment.
MCGEE
(13 VIEWS)
