Parliamentary and Constitutional Affairs Minister Eric Matinenga said the Movement for Democratic Change was still safe despite the arrests and convictions of its legislators.
He was commenting after one of the MDC legislators Matthias Mlambo of Chipinge East had been jailed for seven months for obstructing the course of justice.
Another MDC legislator Meki Makuyana, of Chipinge South also faced possible imprisonment if convicted on separate charges of kidnapping.
Matinenga himself and other MDC legislators were facing charges as well.
Matinenga said though the arrests and conviction were worrisome they would not have an immediate impact on the MDC’s majority in Parliament.
Full cable:
Viewing cable 09HARARE394, MDC MP CONVICTED FOR OBSTRUCTING JUSTICE; OTHERS STILL FACE
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Reference ID |
Created |
Released |
Classification |
Origin |
VZCZCXRO3460
RR RUEHBZ RUEHDU RUEHJO RUEHMR RUEHRN
DE RUEHSB #0394/01 1331600
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 131600Z MAY 09
FM AMEMBASSY HARARE
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 4468
RUCNSAD/SOUTHERN AF DEVELOPMENT COMMUNITY COLLECTIVE
RUEHUJA/AMEMBASSY ABUJA 2281
RUEHAR/AMEMBASSY ACCRA 2814
RUEHDS/AMEMBASSY ADDIS ABABA 2934
RUEHRL/AMEMBASSY BERLIN 1377
RUEHBY/AMEMBASSY CANBERRA 2197
RUEHDK/AMEMBASSY DAKAR 2562
RUEHKM/AMEMBASSY KAMPALA 2982
RUEHNR/AMEMBASSY NAIROBI 5423
RUZEHAA/CDR USEUCOM INTEL VAIHINGEN GE
RUEAIIA/CIA WASHDC
RUCPDOC/DEPT OF COMMERCE WASHDC
RUEHC/DEPT OF LABOR WASHDC
RUEATRS/DEPT OF TREASURY WASHDC
RHEFDIA/DIA WASHDC
RUZEJAA/JAC MOLESWORTH RAF MOLESWORTH UK
RHMFISS/JOINT STAFF WASHDC
RHEHAAA/NSC WASHDC
RUEHGV/USMISSION GENEVA 2106
UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 HARARE 000394
SENSITIVE
SIPDIS
AF/S FOR B. WALCH
DRL FOR N. WILETT
ADDIS ABABA FOR USAU
ADDIS ABABA FOR ACSS
NSC FOR SENIOR AFRICA DIRECTOR M. GAVIN
STATE PASS TO USAID FOR L.DOBBINS AND E.LOKEN
E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: ASEC KDEM PGOV PHUM PREL ZI
SUBJECT: MDC MP CONVICTED FOR OBSTRUCTING JUSTICE; OTHERS STILL FACE
CHARGES
¶1. (U) SUMMARY: The advent of the transitional government has failed
to stem political prosecutions of abductees as well as MPs. This
week Matthias Mlambo, MDC-T MP for Chipinge East, was jailed for an
effective seven months while his colleague Meki Makuyana, MDC-T MP
for Chipinge South, also faces possible imprisonment if convicted on
separate charges of kidnapping. Mlambo’s lawyers are filing an
appeal, but he may lose his seat in the House of Assembly if he
misses more than 21 consecutive sessions of Parliament and
Parliament approves a resolution to declare the seat vacant. These
cases are two of several cases still pending against MDC MPs. END
SUMMARY.
———————————————
MP Mlambo Convicted of Obstruction of Justice
———————————————
¶2. (U) On May 11, MDC-T MP for Chipinge East, Matthias Mlambo was
convicted of obstructing justice and was sentenced to 10 months
imprisonment with hard labor; three months were suspended on
condition of good behavior.
¶3. (SBU) The charges stem from an incident on April 10 when Mlambo
was attending the funeral of an MDC member in Chipinge, in
southeastern Zimbabwe. According to Mlambo’s lawyer, a ZANU-PF
member arrived at the funeral wearing ZANU-PF regalia, a dispute
ensued, and MDC members beat him up. A police officer then arrived
and fired one shot, resulting in further pandemonium. After the
burial Mlambo went to the police and reported the police officer
whom he considered to have acted recklessly. Realizing that his
conduct had been reported to his superiors, the police officer who
had discharged his firearm filed a complaint against Mlambo on April
¶12. The officer alleged that Mlambo had prevented him from
arresting the MDC youths who had beaten up the ZANU-PF youth by
refusing to identify the youths in question. Mlambo maintained that
he had not seen the persons who had beaten up the ZANU-PF youth.
¶4. (U) Mlambo was arrested and released on bail on May 2. At the
completion of his trial on May 11 in the Chipinge Magistrate’s
court, he was convicted and sentenced to 10 months imprisonment with
three months suspended for good behavior. His lawyers have filed an
appeal and applied for bail pending appeal. The application for
bail will be heard on May 15. The state is not opposing bail.
¶5. (U) To date, Mlambo’s criminal report against the police officer
has not been investigated by the police.
———————————–
MP Makuyana Charged with Kidnapping
———————————–
¶6. (U) Separately, Chipinge South MP Makuyana faces charges of
kidnapping. On May 11, the state closed its case in his trial in
the same court in Chipinge. The defense indicated that it will
Qthe same court in Chipinge. The defense indicated that it will
apply for discharge at the close of the state case. The magistrate
directed both lawyers to file written arguments by May 15 and said
he will hand down his ruling by May 27. Pending judgment, Makuyana
was released on bail. The state did not oppose the bail
application.
¶7. (U) Makuyana’s troubles started on December 3, 2008. According
to his lawyer Langton Mhungu, he had been addressing a development
meeting when ZANU-PF members started their own meeting about a
hundred meters away. ZANU-PF members became violent and stabbed one
HARARE 00000394 002 OF 002
of the MDC members. The MDC then effected a citizen’s arrest of the
perpetrator and filed the report with the police. In turn, local
ZANU-PF members reported Makuyana to the police on January 10, 2009
for kidnapping.
—————————————–
MDC’s Parliamentary Majority Safe for Now
—————————————–
¶8. (SBU) We spoke with Eric Matinenga, a respected lawyer and
Minister for Parliamentary and Constitutional Affairs (MDC-T), who
indicated that, although the convictions are worrisome, they won’t
have an immediate impact on the MDC’s majority in parliament. A
conviction could cause an MP to lose his seat through one of two
possibilities. First, if Mlambo misses more than 21 consecutive
sessions while he is in jail, and Parliament resolves to declare the
seat vacant, he could lose his seat. Alternatively, if an MP is
sentenced to more than six months in prison without the option of a
fine, he could lose his seat. While the sentence is under appeal,
as in Mlambo’s case, the MP maintains his seat. Under the Global
Political Agreement (GPA), any parliamentary seat that is lost will
be replaced by an MP of the same party, unless the seat is contested
by a party or independent candidate not bound by the GPA.
¶9. (SBU) Notably, when we called Matinenga on May 11 to ask him
about the cases in Chipinge, he was not yet aware of them,
particularly Mlambo’s conviction. He further asked us for the name
and contact information for the MPs’ lawyer. When we talked to him
again on May 12, Matinenga said the MDC did not yet have an official
response to the two court cases. Matinenga himself is awaiting
judgment (expected May 26 in Mutare) on charges of inciting violence
during the inter-election period in 2008.
——-
COMMENT
——-
¶10. (SBU) As the transitional government lurches along, the courts
continue to be the preferred venue for targeting MDC members and
sympathizers through trumped up charges By removing battles to the
legal system, ZANU-PF can cleverly claim that “justice is taking its
course.” These two cases, like many others, arose after MPs
attempted to engage local police to report crimes or other behavior
and found themselves incarcerated and accused of the very acts they
sought to report. As with other cases, these two arose because of
actors within ZANU-PF controlled entities: the police, the Ministry
of Justice, and the Attorney General’s office. While the MDC’s
parliamentary majority appears safe, such cases continue to
undermine the spirit of and support for the transitional “inclusive”
government. END COMMENT.
MCGEE
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