A group of men attempted to break into the house of Minister of State in the Prime Minister’s office Gorden Moyo but left after he threatened to shoot them.
The incident occurred during a week of mayhem which was thought to be retaliation against the Movement for Democratic Change’s pull out from the inclusive government.
Moyo said the men attempted to force their way into his house, broke some windows, and left after he threatened to shoot.
Full cable:
Viewing cable 09HARARE867, A WEEK OF RAIDS, ARRESTS, AND MAYHEM IN ZIMBABWE
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Reference ID |
Created |
Classification |
Origin |
VZCZCXRO4469
OO RUEHBZ RUEHDU RUEHMR RUEHRN
DE RUEHSB #0867/01 3030938
ZNY CCCCC ZZH
O 300938Z OCT 09
FM AMEMBASSY HARARE
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 5090
INFO RUCNSAD/SOUTHERN AF DEVELOPMENT COMMUNITY COLLECTIVE
RUEHAR/AMEMBASSY ACCRA 3140
RUEHDS/AMEMBASSY ADDIS ABABA 3252
RUEHRL/AMEMBASSY BERLIN 1679
RUEHBY/AMEMBASSY CANBERRA 2513
RUEHDK/AMEMBASSY DAKAR 2882
RUEHKM/AMEMBASSY KAMPALA 3300
RUEHNR/AMEMBASSY NAIROBI 5748
RUEAIIA/CIA WASHDC
RUZEJAA/JAC MOLESWORTH RAF MOLESWORTH UK
RHMFISS/EUCOM POLAD VAIHINGEN GE
RHEFDIA/DIA WASHDC
RUEHGV/USMISSION GENEVA 2432
RHEHAAA/NSC WASHDC
C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 03 HARARE 000867
SIPDIS
AF/S FOR B. WALCH
DRL FOR N. WILETT
ADDIS ABABA FOR USAU
ADDIS ABABA FOR ACSS
STATE PASS TO USAID FOR J. HARMON AND L. DOBBINS
STATE PASS TO NSC FOR SENIOR AFRICA DIRECTOR MICHELLE GAVIN
E.O. 12958: DECL: 10/30/2019
SUBJECT: A WEEK OF RAIDS, ARRESTS, AND MAYHEM IN ZIMBABWE
REF: HARARE 864
Classified By: CDA Katherine S. Dhanani for reasons 1.4 (b) and (d).
——-
SUMMARY
——-
¶1. (U) Throughout the past week, Zimbabwe’s security forces
and likely ZANU-PF supporters have executed a series of
operations targeting the MDC and several local NGOs,
resulting in the arrest of seven people — five of whom were
subsequently released — the attempted abduction of an eighth
individual, a raid on an MDC house, an attempted break-in at
the home of an MDC minister, and the burning of 10,000 copies
of an MDC newsletter. MDC officials believe the raids,
arrests, and harassment are a backlash against the party’s
decision to disengage with ZANU-PF, and they warn of a
renewed wave of violence.
¶2. (U) As the arrests were being carried out, the UN Special
Rapporteur on torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading
treatment, who had been invited by the government on a
fact-finding mission, was denied entry into Zimbabwe. END
SUMMARY.
———————–
Timeline of a Crackdown
———————–
¶3. (U) Friday, October 23: A heavily-armed force of
approximately 50 police officers raided a known MDC-T house
in the Chisipite suburb of Harare. The officers presented a
search warrant, claimed to be searching for an arms cache,
and forced the caretaker to dig throughout the property’s
yard. The police failed to discover any arms and refused to
leave the warrant, claiming that it had not yet been signed
by a supervisor. Earlier in the week, reports circulated
that 19 AK-47s and some other arms disappeared from an army
barracks in Harare.
¶4. (U) Saturday, October 24: Two Bulawayo MDC-T
parliamentarians were arrested at a roadblock in Bulawayo and
detained overnight at Bulawayo Central Police Station.
According to the MDC-T, the police alleged that the MPs )-
Reggie Moyo and Albert Mhlanga )- were ferrying ammunition
stolen from Pomona Barracks in Harare.
¶5. (U) Saturday, October 24: Local ZANU-PF officials seized
and burnt over 10,000 copies of the recently-released
“Changing Times” MDC newsletter in Bindura in Mashonaland
Central province. Several MDC officials confirmed the
incident and said that four employees of the ZANU-PF-led
Bindura city council were responsible for their destruction.
¶6. (U) Sunday, October 25: National Association of NGOs
(NANGO) Board Chairwoman Dadirai Chikwengo and Chief
Executive Officer Cephas Zinhumwe were arrested at the
A’Zimbabwe hotel in Victoria Falls for holding a political
meeting without notifying the police. The arrests occurred
immediately after the conclusion of NANGO’s annual conference
for NGO directors, which was attended by 120 NGO Directors
and the Minister of Labor, Paurina Gwanyanya (MDC-T). The
two were arrested after Minister Gwanyanya left the hotel and
as NGO directors were boarding buses to return to Harare. On
October 27, they were formally charged with contravening the
QOctober 27, they were formally charged with contravening the
Public Order and Security Act (POSA) and released on bail.
¶7. (U) Tuesday, October 27: Four armed men attempted to
kidnap Edith Mashaire, an MDC-T security administrator, while
she was walking through a Harare shopping mall on her way to
HARARE 00000867 002 OF 003
work that morning. According to Mashaire, three of the men
carried AK-47 rifles and the fourth held a pistol. The men
attempted to wrestle her into a twin-cab Isuzu truck, but
Mashaire escaped after screaming for help.
¶8. (U) Tuesday, October 27: MDC Transport Manager, Pascal
Gwezere, was arrested by six armed men driving a grey Isuzu
truck. The incident occurred at 6:45 p.m. after Gwezere
arrived at his home in Harare. According to an MDC press
release, the men returned the following day, confiscated the
cell phone of his wife, and informed her that he was being
held at Marimba Police Station.
¶9. (U) Wednesday, October 28: Ndodhana Ndhlovu and Thulani
Ndhlovu of the Zimbabwe Election Support Network (ZESN) were
arrested in Dete, a small town in Matabeleland North, for
conducting a public outreach workshop without police
clearance. The workshop was attended by about 50
participants and local Chief Nelukoba. Ndodhana was
subsequently released without charge, but Thulani was charged
and remains in custody. The arrests led ZESN to cancel
another workshop scheduled for October 29 in the same
province.
¶10. (U) Wednesday, October 28: A group of men attempted to
break into the home of Prime Minister Tsvangirai aide Gorden
Moyo. Moyo, a Cabinet minister serving in the PM’s office,
said that they attempted to force their way into the house,
broke some windows, and left after he threatened to shoot.
¶11. (C) Wednesday, October 28: The director of the
Counseling Services Unit, an NGO that provides medical care
for victims of torture and human rights abuses, told us that
her office has been monitored almost continuously throughout
the week by police Superintendent Peter Magwenzi. Magwenzi
is well-known to civil society activists and has been
involved in numerous political cases. Last year he was
complicit in the abductions of Jestina Mukoko and other civil
society activists.
———————————————
Meanwhile, UN Envoy Denied Entry and Deported
———————————————
¶12. (U) On October 28, the UN Special Rapporteur on torture
and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment, Manfred
Nowak, was denied entry into Zimbabwe at Harare International
Airport (reftel). Nowak, who was scheduled to come to
Zimbabwe on a fact-finding mission, was told on October 26
that the government was rescinding its invitation because it
was preoccupied with the SADC Troika visit. Prime Minister
Morgan Tsvangirai then invited him for a meeting on October
¶29. When Nowak arrived at the airport, security officials
told him that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs had not granted
clearance for the meeting and refused him entry to Zimbabwe
despite the letter Nowak presented from the Prime Minister.
Nowak spent the night at the airport before he was returned
to South Africa on October 29. Nowak spoke to the press upon
Qto South Africa on October 29. Nowak spoke to the press upon
his return and denounced his treatment as “a very alarming
signal about the power structure of the present government.”
¶13. (U) MDC spokesman Nelson Chamisa reiterated Nowak’s
sentiments and said, “What we are seeing now was exactly how
the violence began in the campaign for the presidential
run-off elections between March and June last year. We are
beginning to see the formation of another storm of violence.”
——-
COMMENT
——-
HARARE 00000867 003 OF 003
¶14. (C) These arrests and detentions are reminiscent of
tactics used last year when State security agents targeted
middle and low ranking MDC officials and NGOs to intimidate
the party and their supporters in the lead-up to the June
2008 presidential run-off. While it is too early to make a
similar determination, it is apparent that ZANU-PF is turning
up the heat on the MDC. These actions and an intensification
of anti-MDC rhetoric in the State media signal that ZANU-PF
is once again treating the MDC as an opposition party rather
than a partner in government. END COMMENT.
DHANANI
(19 VIEWS)
