Maurice Nyagumbo, who was one of the top five in the Zimbabwe African National Union-Patriotic Front soon after the merger with the Zimbabwe African People’s Union, was the leader of a faction of the Manyika that was loyal to President Robert Mugabe and opposed the other Manyika faction led by Edgar Tekere.
This was according to the United States embassy soon after the unity accord of 1987.
The embassy said Nyagumbo was a long-time Mugabe associate and had supported Mugabe’s bid to take over leadership of the party from founding president Ndabaningi Sithole.
Like the Karanga, the Manyika were divided by various internal factions and lacked a single commanding leader, the embassy said, but unlike the Karanga, the Manyika had historically allied themselves with the Zezuru.
The embassy said Nyagumbo was now well positioned to be a strong contender for eventually succeeding Mugabe as president, but he had not impressed many people with his administration or leadership qualities.
Tekere had been Mugabe’s right hand man at independence was second in command as the party’s secretary general.
Full cable:
Viewing cable 88HARARE1365, THE NEW GOZ: BIO INFORMATION
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Reference ID |
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Released |
Classification |
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R 140920Z MAR 88
FM AMEMBASSY HARARE
TO SECSTATE WASHDC 7441
INFO DIA WASHDC
USCINCEUR VAIHINGEN GE//ECJ5//ECJ2//
C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 17 HARARE 01365
E.O. 12356: DECL: OADR
SUBJECT: THE NEW GOZ: BIO INFORMATION
REF: A) HARARE 17 B) HARARE 394 C) 87 HARARE 6985 D) HARARE 240
¶1. (U) SUMMARY. PRESIDENT MUGABE ANNOUNCED ON JANUARY
2, 1988 THE COMPOSITION OF HIS NEW CABINET (REF A).
THIS NEW GOVERNMENT CONSISTS OF THREE SENIOR MINISTERS,
21 CABINET MINISTERS, 3 CABINET-RANK MINISTERS OF STATE,
15 DEPUTY MINISTERS, 5 MINISTERS OF STATE WHO WORK AS
“PARTY APPOINTEES”, AND 3 DEPUTY MINISTERS OF STATE WHO
ASSIST THE “PARTY APPOINTEES”.
¶2. (U) AMONG THESE VARIED GROUPS, THERE ARE 14 ZERURU,
12 KARANGA, 11 MANYIKA, 8 NDEBELE, 3 WHITES, 2
COLOUREDS, AND AN ASIAN (REF B). SIX OF THESE 51
APPOINTEES ARE WOMEN. WHILE SOME MINISTERS FROM THE
PREVIOUS GOVERNMENT HAVE RETAINED THEIR PORTFOLIOS,
OTHER VETERAN MINISTERS HAVE BEEN MOVED TO NEW
ASSIGNMENTS. SEVERAL PROMINENT PERSONALITIES HAVE ALSO
BEEN REMOVED FROM THE CABINET AND THERE ARE, OF COURSE,
SOME NEW FACES. PROVIDED BELOW ARE BIO SKETCHES FOR ALL
THE MEMBERS OF THIS NEW GOVERNMENT. OTHER APPOINTMENTS,
SUCH AS PERMANENT SECRETARIES AND AMBASSADORS, ARE STILL
TO BE ANNOUNCED. THE BIOGRAPHIC INFORMATION PROVIDED IN
THIS REPORT IS THE BEST OVERALL DATA WHICH HAVE HAVE
BEEN ABLE TO ASSEMBLE SINCE THE FORMATION OF THE NEW
GOZ. WE WELCOME COMMENTS AND ADDITIONS AS WELL AS
QUERIES FOR MORE SPECIFIC INFORMATION ON INDIVIDUAL
MEMBERS OF THIS GOVERNMENT. END SUMMARY.
THE VICE PRESIDENT
——————
¶3. (U) SIMON VENGESAI MUZENDA: IS A VETERAN NATIONALIST
AND LONG-TIME MUGABE CONFIDANT AND LOYALIST. IN THE
PREVIOUS GOVERNMENT HE SERVED AS THE DEPUTY PRIME
MINISTER, A POSITION HE HAS HELD CONTINUOUSLY SINCE
INDEPENDENCE. MUZENDA IS ZANU’S SECOND SECRETARY AND
MEMBER OF THE POLITBURO. IN ADDITION TO BEING NAMED
DEPUTY PRIME MINISTER IN 1980, MUZENDA ALSO SERVED UNTIL
JANUARY 1981 AS MUGABE’S FIRST FOREIGN MINISTER.
MUZENDA WAS BORN IN 1922. HE IS MARRIED AND HAD EIGHT
CHILDREN, ONE OF WHOM WAS KILLED DURING THE WAR.
¶4. (C) MUZENDA IS FROM THE KARANGA TRIBE AND IS THE
LEADER OF ONE OF THE POLITICAL FACTIONS WHICH NOW
DIVIDES THAT GROUP. IT IS SAID THAT MUZENDA MAY ACTUALLY
BE A MEMBER OF THE TINY VENDA TRIBE, A NON-SHONA GROUP
FROM SOUTHERN ZIMBABWE WHICH WAS ESSENTIALLY
INCORPORATED INTO THE KARANGA. UNLIKE OTHER KARANGAS,
MUZENDA AND HIS FACTION (AS MUGABE LOYALISTS) ARE NOT
CHALLENGING THE ZEZURU POLITICAL ASCENDENCY. IT IS
SAID THAT THERE IS BAD BLOOD BETWEEN MUZENDA AND
JOSHUA NKOMO, AND BETWEEN MUZENDA AND FELLOW KARANGA
EDDISON ZVOBGO. THE ANIMOSITY BETWEEN MUZENDA AND NKOMO
WAS REPORTEDLY EXACERBATED BY THE FACT THAT BOTH
MUZENDA AND NKOMO EXPECTED TO BE NAMED VICE PRESIDENT.
MUGABE, IT IS RUMORED, MADE MATTERS WORSE BY DELAYING
HIS DECISION ON WHICH MAN TO TAP FOR THE VICE PRESIDENCY
UNTIL THE LAST MOMENT. DESPITE HIS BEING VICE PRESIDENT,
MUZENDA IS NOT GENERALLY CONSIDERED TO BE THE LIKELY
PERMANENT SUCCESSOR TO MUGABE SHOULD THE LATTER LEAVE
OR BE REMOVED FROM OFFICE, THOUGH HE WOULD LIKELY BE
THE INTERIM LEADER DUE TO HIS NUMBER TWO POSITIONS IN
BOTH THE GOVERNMENT AND PARTY.
SENIOR MINISTERS
—————-
¶5. (U) MAURICE NYAGUMBO: REMAINS IN CHARGE OF POLITICAL
AFFAIRS IN THE PRESIDENT’S OFFICE. HE SERVED IN THE
PREVIOUS GOVERNMENT AS THE MINISTER OF STATE FOR
POLITICAL AFFAIRS AND CO-ORDINATION OF COOPERATIVES,
ATTACHED TO THE PRIME MINISTER’S OFFICE. NYAGUMBO IS
ONE OF THE TOP FIVE ZANU PARTY OFFICIALS, IS IN THE
POLITBURO, AND SERVES AS THE PARTY’S SECRETARY FOR
ADMINISTRATION. SINCE INDEPENDENCE, NYAGUMBO SERVED AS
THE MINISTER OF MINES AND ENERGY RESOURCES UNTIL JANUARY
1984 WHEN HE BECAME A MINISTER OF STATE. NYAGUMBO WAS
BORN IN 1924. HE IS MARRIED AND HAS SIX CHILDREN.
NYAGUMBO TRAVELED TO THE US IN 1987 ON A USIA IV GRANT.
¶6. (C) NYAGUMBO IS ANOTHER LONG-TIME MUGABE ASSOCIATE
AND WAS HELD IN DETENTION WITH MUGABE UNTIL HIS RELEASE
IN 1975. WHILE IN PRISON, NYAGUMBO SUPPORTED MUGABE’S
BID TO TAKE OVER THE LEADERSHIP OF ZANU FROM NDABANINGI
SITHOLE. NYAGUMBO IS A MANYIKA–THE LEADER OF A MANYIKA
FACTION WHICH IS LOYAL TO MUGABE–AND OPPOSES THE MANYIKA
FACTION LED BY EDGAR TEKERE. LIKE THE KARANGA, THE
MANYIKA ARE DIVIDED BY VARIOUS INTERNAL FACTIONS AND
LACK A SINGLE COMMANDING LEADER. UNLIKE THE KARANGA,
THE MANYIKA HAVE HISTORICALLY ALLIED THEMSELVES WITH
THE ZEZURU. NYAGUMBO IS NOW WELL POSITIONED TO BE A
STRONG CONTENDER FOR EVENTUALLY SUCCEEDING MUGABE AS
PRESIDENT, BUT HE HAS NOT IMPRESSED MANY PEOPLE WITH
HIS ADMINISTRATION OR LEADERSHIP QUALITIES.
¶7. (U) BERNARD CHIDZERO IS NOW THE SENIOR MINISTER OF
FINANCE, ECONOMIC PLANNING AND DEVELOPMENT. HE HAS
SUPERVISORY RESPONSIBILITIES FOR THE ECONOMIC MINISTRIES
OF INDUSTRY, TRADE AND COMMERCE, LAND AND AGRICULTURE,
AND MINES. HE ALSO SERVES AS HIS OWN FINANCE MINISTER,
THE POSITION HE HELD IN THE PREVIOUS GOVERNMENT.
CHIDZERO RECIEVED HIS HIGHER EDUCATION IN CANADA,
EARNING AN M.A. AT OTTAWA UNIVERSITY IN 1955, AND A
PH.D. AT MCGILL UNIVERSITY (MONTREAL) IN 1958. HE DID
POST-GRADUATE STUDIES IN OXFORD. BEFORE ENTERING
GOVERNMENT IN 1980 AS MINISTER OF ECONOMIC PLANNING AND
DEVELOPMENT, CHIDZERO HELD SEVERAL POSITIONS IN THE U.N.
ORGANIZATIONS, THE LAST BEING AS DIRECTOR OF THE
COMMODITIES DIVISION OF UNCTAD. CHIDZERO WAS BORN IN
¶1927. HE CONVERTED TO ROMAN CATHOLICISM AS A YOUNG
MAN. HE IS MARRIED TO A CANADIAN AND HAS FOUR CHILDREN.
¶8. (C) CHIDZERO, THE SON OF A ZEZURU MOTHER AND A
MALAWIAN FATHER, WAS BORN AND RAISED IN THE HARARE AREA.
HE WAS OVERSEAS DURING MOST OF THE NATIONALIST STRUGGLE
AND THUS LACKS THE POLITICAL BASE AND LIBERATION
CREDENTIALS TO BE ANYTHING MORE THAN A WELL RESPECTED
TECHNOCRAT. HE IS WIDELY RESPECTED IN THE PRIVATE
SECTOR HERE AND IN THE INTERNATIONAL FINANCIAL COMMUNITY.
HE CLEARLY FAVORS MOST OF THE ECONOMIC REFORMS AND
GROWTH STRATEGIES WHICH THE WORLD BANK RECOMMENDS FOR
ZIMBABWE. HE ALSO FAVORS THE EXECUTION OF AN OPIC
AGREEMENT. DISAPPOINTINGLY, HE WILL NOT FORCEFULLY
ARGUE FOR SUCH ECONOMIC CHANGES IN CABINET IF HE SENSES
THAT PRESIDENT MUGABE HAS ANY RESERVATIONS ABOUT THE
CHANGE.
¶9. (U) JOSHUA NKOMO, A VETERAN NATIONALIST AND PRESIDENT
OF ZAPU, IS NOW BACK IN GOVERNMENT AS THE SENIOR
MINISTER FOR LOCAL GOVERNMENT AND RURAL AND URBAN
DEVELOPMENT, WITH ADDITIONAL RESPONSIBILITIES FOR
COMMUNITY AND CO-OPERATIVE DEVELOPMENT, WOMEN’S AFFAIRS,
AND NATIONAL HOUSING. NKOMO, WHO TURNED DOWN MUGABE’S
OFFER TO MAKE HIM THE PRESIDENT OF ZIMBABWE AFTER
INDEPENDENCE, FIRST SERVED IN THE GOVERNMENT AS THE
MINISTER OF HOME AFFAIRS FROM MARCH 1980 TO JANUARY
1981, WHEN HE WAS SHIFTED TO MINISTRY OF PUBLIC
SERVICE. IN THE LATTER POSITION, NKOMO WAS RESPONSIBLE
FOR RESTRUCTURING THE WHITE-DOMINATED CIVIL SERVICE.
NKOMO’S REASSIGNMENT WAS SEEN BY SOME AS A DEMOTION AND
AN ATTEMPT BY THE RULING ZANU CLIQUE TO EXCLUDE ZAPU
MEMBERS FROM MINISTRIES DEALING WITH NATIONAL SECURITY
MATTERS. NKOMO WAS MADE MINISTER WITHOUT PORFOLIO, AND
WAS FINALLY DISMISSED FROM THE CABINET ALONG WITH OTHER
ZAPU MINISTERS IN FEBRUARY 1982. SHORTLY THEREAFTER,
NKOMO WENT INTO EXILE IN THE UK BUT RETURNED TO ZIMBABWE
AFTER A FEW MONTHS. SINCE THEN, NKOMO WORKED
EXCLUSIVELY ON ZAPU BUSINESS AND ENTERED A SERIES OF
DIFFICULT NEGOTIATIONS WITH MUGAGE FOR THE UNIFICATION
OF ZANU AND ZAPU. THESE NEGOTIATIONS CONCLUDED AT THE
END OF 1987, AND THE “UNITY AGREEMENT” WAS SIGNED ON
DECEMBER 22 (REF C). NKOMO WAS BORN IN 1917. HE BEGAN
HIS POLITICAL CAREER AS A TRADE UNIONIST WITH THE
RAILWAY WORKERS. HE IS MARRIED AND HAS THREE GROWN
CHILDREN.
¶10. (C) THERE HAD BEEN RUMORS THAT NKOMO EXPECTED TO BE
APPOINTED TO THE VICE PRESIDENCY WHEN MUGABE WAS
INAUGURATED AS THE NEW EXECUTIVE PRESIDENT ON
DECEMBER 30, 1987. MUGABE, HOWEVER, APPOINTED FORMER
DEPUTY PRIME MINISTER AND ZANU SECOND SECRETARY SIMON
MUZENDA AS THE NEW VICE PRESIDENT, MUCH TO NKOMO’S
CHAGRIN. IT IS EXPECTED, HOWEVER, THAT NKOMO AND
MUZENDA WILL HAVE EQUIVALENT POSITIONS, SUBORDINATE TO
MUGABE, IN THE HIERARCHY OF THE UNIFIED ZANU/ZAPU PARTY
ALTHOUGH SOME OBSERVERS BELIEVE THAT NKOMO WILL
EVENTUALLY EMERGE THE STRONGER. AS THE SENIOR MINISTER
IN CHARGE OF LOCAL GOVERNMENT AND COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT,
NKOMO SHOULD BE IN A POSITION TO CHANNEL MUCH NEEDED
GOVERNMENT INVESTMENT AND ASSISTANCE INTO MATABELELAND
(NKOMO’S HOME TURF) WHICH HAS BEEN PREVIOUSLY NEGLECTED
IN TERMS OF DEVELOPMENTAL ASSISTANCE AND BLIGHTED BY
DROUGHT AND BANDITRY. NKOMO’S PRIORITIES ARE TO END
UNEMPLOYMENT AND VIOLENCE IN MATABELELAND, AND HE
RECENTLY ADJURED THE BANDITS/DISSIDENTS THERE TO LAY
DOWN THEIR WEAPONS. NKOMO HAS ALSO PUT HIS PERSONAL
PRESTIGE BEHIND THE UNITY OF ZAPU AND ZANU AND IT
APPEARS THAT HE CONTINUES TO BE POPULAR AMONG THE
NDEBELE. NKOMO, HIMSELF, IS FROM THE KALANGA TRIBE
WHICH WAS ORIGINALLY MADE UP OF SHONA-SPEAKING PERSONS
ABSORBED BY THE NDEBELE AT THE TIME OF THE LATTER’S
OCCUPATION OF SOUTHWESTERN ZIMBABWE IN THE LAST
CENTURY. THE KALANGA ARE NOW IDENTIFIED WITH THE
NDEBELE. NKOMO IS ONE OF SEVERAL PROMINENT ZAPU
LEADERS WHO, THOUGH ASSUMED TO BE NDEBELE, IS ACTUALLY
PART OF THE KALANGA SUBGROUP. THERE IS NOT, HOWEVER,
THE SAME AMOUNT OF TRIBAL RIVALRY BETWEEN THE KALANGA
AND THE NDEBELE AS THERE IS AMONG THE VARIOUS
SHONA-SPEAKING SUBGROUPS.
CABINET MINISTERS
—————–
¶11. (U) MUGABE NAMED 21 CABINET MINISTERS (UP FROM 18
MINISTERS IN THE PREVIOUS CABINET). THESE MINISTERS ARE:
¶12. (U) MINISTER OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS: NATHAN SHAMUYARIRA
— SHAMUYARIRA IS NEW TO THE FOREIGN MINISTRY AND TAKES
OVER THIS PORTFOLIO FROM WITNESS MANGWENDE. A
JOURNALIST BY TRAINING, HE SERVED AS THE MINISTER OF
INFORMATION SINCE 1980. SHAMUYARIRA IS A MEMBER OF THE
ZANU POLITBURO AND IS THE PARTY’S SECRETARY FOR
PUBLICITY AND INFORMATION. HE JOINED ZAPU IN 1962, BUT
LEFT IN 1963 TO HELP FOUND ZANU. IN 1964, SHAMUYARIRA
LEFT TO STUDY POLITICAL SCIENCE AT PRINCETON UNIVERSITY,
AND RECEIVED A BA IN 1967. HE SUBSEQUENTLY TOOK A
POSITION AS A LECTURER AT THE UNIVERSITY OF DAR ES
SALAAM. SHAMUYARIRA WAS APPOINTED ZANU’S SECRETARY FOR
EXTERNAL AFFAIRS IN 1968. HE LEFT ZANU IN 1971 TO HELP
FOUND FROLIZI, BUT LEFT FROLIZI TO RETURN TO THE
UNIVERSITY OF DAR IN 1973. HE REJOINED ZANU IN 1977 AND
WENT TO MOZAMBIQUE AS THE DIRECTOR OF ZANU’S EDUCATION
DEPARTMENT. HE LATER SERVED AS THE PARTY’S
ADMINISTRATIVE SECRETARY. SHAMUYARIRA IS THE AUTHOR OF
THE BOOK “CRISIS IN RHODESIA” (ANDRE DEUTSCH, 1965). HE
IS MARRIED AND HAS A DAUGHTER.
¶13. (C) SHAMUYARIRA IS A ZEZURU BUT HAS NO PERSONAL
POLITICAL CONSTITUENCY. HE IS ESSENTIALLY A TECHNOCRAT
RATHER THAN A POLITICIAN, AND IS DEPENDENT ON MUGABE’S
FAVOR FOR HIS POSITION. AS THE MINISTER OF INFORMATION,
SHAMUYARIRA DISPLAYED A TENDENCY TOWARD DOCTRINAIRE
SOCIALISM AND HAS BEEN CRITICAL OF THE UNITED STATES.
HOWEVER, MANY OBSERVERS DESCRIBE HIM AS MORE OF AN
OPPORTUNIST THAN A COMMITTED IDEOLOGUE. IN THE TWO
MONTHS THAT SHAMUYARIRA HAS BEEN FOREIGN MINISTER,
HE HAS BEEN REASONABLE AND ACCESSIBLE AND CERTAINLY
HAS BEEN AN IMPROVEMENT OVER HIS PREDECESSOR, WITNESS
MANGWENDE. A SOURCE TELLS US THAT SHAMUYARIRA, ALONG
WITH ANOTHER ZEZURU MINISTER, SIDNEY SEKERAMAYI, WERE
THE DRIVING FORCES BEHIND BLOCKING THE APPOINTMENT OF
EMMERSON MNANGAGWA, A KARANGA, TO THE MINISTRY OF
DEFENSE. SHAMUYARIRA IS REPORTEDLY ONE OF THE LEADERS
IN THE “GROUP OF 26” WHICH SEEKS TO MAINTAIN AND
STRENGTHEN THE ZEZURU ASCENDENCY ON THE GOZ.
SHAMUYARIRA ALSO REPORTEDLY RESISTED THE ZAPU/ZANU
UNITY ACCORD. HE IS ALSO WIDELY BELIEVED TO BE VERY
CLOSE TO THE SOVIETS, THOUGH FOR OPPORTUNISTIC AND
PRAGMATIC, RATHER THAN IDEOLOGICAL REASONS.
¶14. (U) MINISTER OF INFORMATION, POSTS, AND
TELECOMMUNICATIONS (IPT) WITNESS MANGWENDE:
— MANGWENDE PREVIOUSLY SERVED AS MINISTER OF FOREIGN
AFFAIRS SINCE 1981. IMMEDIATELY FOLLOWING INDEPENDENCE
N 1980, MANGWENDE SERVED AS DEPUTY PRIME MINISTER AND
DEPUTY FOREIGN MINISTER. MANGWENDE STUDIED AT THE
LONDON SCHOOL OF ECONOMICS DURING THE YEARS OF THE
NATIONALIST STRUGGLE, AND SERVED AS THE PRESIDENT OF
ZANU’S ZIMBABWE STUDENTS’ UNION. IN 1979 HE WAS
APPOINTED CHIEF ZANU REPRESENTATIVE TO MOZAMBIQUE.
MANGWENDE WAS BORN IN 1946, IS MARRIED, AND HAS NO
CHILDREN.
¶15. (C) WHILE MANGWENDE DOES NOT HAVE A PERSONAL
POLITICAL CONSTITUENCY, HE REMAINS IN THE GOVERNMENT
BECAUSE OF HIS MEMBERSHIP IN A PROMINENT ZEZURU CLAN.
MANGWENDE THEREFORE CAN BE EXPECTED TO SUPPORT THE
POLITICAL STATUS QUO WHICH FAVORS THE ZEZURU ASCENDENCY.
HE WAS NOT FAVORABLY REVIEWED AS A FOREIGN MINISTER BY
THE LOCAL DIPLOMATIC COMMUNITY. MANGWENDE WAS
DIFFICULT TO REACH, DIFFICULT TO WORK WITH, AND HAS
A DRINKING PROBLEM. HIS LACK OF DIPLOMATIC SKILLS
AND COMPLETE ESPOUSAL OF THIRD WORLD, ANTI-US RHETORIC,
GREATLY CONTRIBUTED TO THE DETERIORATION OF US-ZIMBABWE
RELATIONS IN THE 1983-86 PERIOD. SINCE BECOMING
INFORMATION MINISTER, MANGWENDE HAS BEEN FEATURED
PROMINENTLY ON RADIO AND TELEVISION, HAS CRITICIZED
THE IMPORTING OF FOREIGN TELEVISION PROGRAMS, AND HAS
CALLED FOR THE DEVELOPMENT OF A NATIONAL TELEVISION
PRODUCTION INDUSTRY.
¶16. (U) MINISTER OF DEFENSE: ENOS NKALA
— NKALA IS NEW TO THE MINISTRY OF DEFENSE, TAKING OVER
THIS PORTFOLIO FROM MUGABE WHO, SINCE INDEPENDENCE, HAD
SERVED AS HIS OWN DEFENSE MINISTER. NKALA JOINED THE
GOVERNMENT AS THE MINISTER OF FINANCE IN 1980, AND THEN
BECAME THE MINISTER OF HOME AFFAIRS IN JULY 1985. HE IS
A MEMBER OF THE ZANU POLITBURO, AND IS THE PARTY
SECRETARY FOR FINANCE. NKALA BEGAN HIS CAREER AS A
JOURNALIST, AND FIRST BECAME INVOLVED IN NATIONALIST
ORGANIZATIONS IN THE LATE 1950’S. HE WAS A FOUNDING
MEMBER OF ZANU, AND WAS DETAINED WITH MUGABE AND OTHER
ZANU LEADERS FROM 1964 TO 1974. NKALA WAS BORN IN
¶1932. HE WAS A WIDOWER; HE REMARRIED IN 1987. HE HAS
THREE CHILDREN FROM HIS FIRST MARRIAGE. NKALA TRAVELED
TO THE US IN 1987 ON A USIS IV GRANT.
¶17. (C) THOUGH AN NDEBELE, NKALA IS PERSONALLY VERY LOYAL
TO MUGABE AND SUPPORTS THE POLITICAL STATUS QUO (PERHAPS
BECAUSE HE HAS NOT BEEN SUCCESSFUL IN WINNING POLITICAL
SUPPORT AMONG HIS OWN TRIBE). NKALA HAS LIVED IN
HARARE FOR MANY YEARS AND HIS HOME WAS A MEETING PLACE
FOR THE FOUNDERS OF ZANU. WHILE NKALA WAS DETAINED ALONG
WITH OTHER ZANU LEADERS, HE SUPPORTED MUGABE’S BID TO
REPLACE SITHOLE AS ZANU PRESIDENT. MUGABE IS SAID TO
HAVE A GREAT DEAL OF CONFIDENCE IN NKALA. AS THE
MINISTER OF HOME AFFAIRS, NKALA WAS CONSIDERED TO BE THE
DRIVING FORCE BEHIND THE PERSECUTION OF ZAPU IN THE
LAST YEAR. IT IS ALSO REPORTED THAT NKALA WAS NAMED
TO THE DEFENSE MINISTRY AFTER THE ZEZURU CLIQUE OBJECTED
TO MUGABE’S PLAN TO NAME EMMERSON MNANGAGWA, A KARANGA,
TO THAT POST. SOURCES INDICATE THAT NKALA’S MISSION IS
TO ASSERT CIVILIAN CONTROL OVER THE ARMY AND AIR FORCE
COMMANDS AND CRACK DOWN ON CORRUPTION WITHIN THE
ARMED FORCES.
¶18. (U) MINISTER OF HOME AFFAIRS: MOVEN MAHACHI
— MAHACHI, WHO PREVIOUSLY SERVED AS THE MINISTER OF
LANDS, AGRICULTURE, AND RURAL RESETTLEMENT, HAS TAKEN
OVER THE MINISTRY OF HOME AFFAIRS FROM ENOS NKALA.
THOUGH HE IS ONE OF THE YOUNGEST MEMBERS OF THE CABINET
(BORN 1948), MAHACHI HAS BEEN IN THE GOVERNMENT SINCE
INDEPENDENCE. HE FIRST SERVED AS DEPUTY MINISTER FOR
LANDS, RESETTLEMENT, AND RURAL DEVELOPMENT, BECOMING THE
MINISTER IN FEBRUARY 1982. THE AGRICULTURE PORTFOLIO
WAS LATER ADDED TO HIS MINISTRY IN JULY 1985. DURING
THE NATIONALIST STRUGGLE, MAHACHI SERVED AS AN
UNDERGROUND OPERATIVE IN SUPPORT OF ZANU. HE WAS
ARRESTED IN 1975 AND DETAINED UNTIL 1979. MAHACHI IS
MARRIED AND HAS FOUR CHILDREN. HE JOINED THE ANGLICAN
CHURCH AS A YOUNG MAN.
¶19. (C) MAHACHI IS A MANYIKA, BUT HE HAS NO INDEPENDENT
POLITICAL BASE. HIS POSITION IN GOVERNMENT IS DUE TO
HIS CLOSE RELATIONSHIP WITH MUGABE. DURING THE
NATIONALIST STRUGGLE, MAHACHI WAS INSTRUMENTAL IN
SECRETLY CONVEYING MUGABE TO MOZAMBIQUE IN 1975 TO
AVOID ANOTHER ARREST. ONCE INSIDE MOZAMBIQUE, MUGABE
CONSOLIDATED HIS CONTROL OVER ZANU/ZANLA AND BECAME
THE PREEMINENT NATIONALIST LEADER. MAHACHI SHOULD
CONTINUE TO HAVE EASY ACCESS TO MUGABE AS HE MANAGES
THE DIFFICULT HOME AFFAIRS PORTFOLIO. AS A MUGABE
LOYALIST, MAHACHI CAN BE EXPECTED TO SUPPORT THE ZEZURU
POLITICAL ASCENDENCY. A SOURCE TELLS US THAT MAHACHI
WAS ALONE RESPONSIBLE FOR THE RECENT RELEASE OF TWO
WHITE CUSTOMS OFFICIALS WHO HAVE BEEN DETAINED FOR THE
LAST TWO YEARS ON SUSPICION OF SPYING FOR SOUTH AFRICA.
IT IS RUMORED THAT MAHACHI WAS REPRIMANDED FOR THIS
ACTION. THERE ARE ALSO REPORTS THAT MAHACHI IS HAVING
TROUBLE WITH THE COMMISSIONER OF POLICE AND THAT THE
COMMISSIONER DOES NOT ALWAYS CARRY OUT MAHACHI’S ORDERS.
SOME OBSERVERS HAVE SUGGESTED THAT MAHACHI MAY BE
“TOO SOFT” FOR HIS CURRENT ASSIGNMENT.
¶20. (U) MINISTER OF LANDS, AGRICULTURE, AND RURAL
DEVELOPMENT: DAVID KARIMANZIRA
— TOOK OVER THIS PORTFOLIO FROM MOVEN MAHACHI. HE IS
ANOTHER YOUNG MINISTER (BORN 1947) BUT, UNLIKE MAHACHI,
WAS ONLY APPOINTED TO THE CABINET IN 1985 AFTER HIS
FIRST ELECTION TO PARLIAMENT AS THE MINISTER OF SPORT,
YOUTH AND CULTURE. KARIMANZIRA HAS, HOWEVER, SERVED IN
VARIOUS NATIONAL AND PROVINCIAL GOVERNMENT POSITIONS
SINCE INDEPENDENCE. IN 1980 HE WAS APPOINTED AS THE
UNDERSECRETARY OF TRANSPORTATION IN MUGABE’S FIRST
GOVERNMENT AND LATER BECAME DEPUTY MINISTER. HE HAS
ALSO SERVED AS A PROVINCIAL OFFICER FOR ZANU. HE IS A
MEMBER OF THE ZANU CENTRAL COMMITTEE AND IS THE PARTY’S
DEPUTY SECRETARY FOR INFORMATION AND PUBLICITY.
KARIMANZIRA RECEIVED HIS UNDERGRADUATE EDUCATION IN
RHODESIA, AND ALSO STUDIED IN THE UK IN THE LATTER HALF
OF THE 1970’S. DURING THAT TIME HE WAS ACTIVE IN ZANU’S
ORGANIZATIONS IN THE UK. HE IS MARRIED (HIS WIFE WORKS
IN THE METEOROLOGICAL SERVICE) AND THEY HAVE TWO
CHILDREN.
¶21. (C) KARIMANZIRA IS A ZEZURU AND IS CONSIDERED MORE
OF AN APPARATCHIK THAN A POLITICIAN WITH AN INDEPENDENT
BASE. AS A ZEZURU HE CAN BE EXPECTED TO UPHOLD THE
POLITICAL STATUS QUO. KARIMANZIRA HAS THE REPUTATION
FOR BEING CRITICAL OF THE US AND HE HAS THE DUBIOUS
DISTINCTION OF MAKING THE SPEECH AT EMBASSY HARARE’S
FOURTH OF JULY (1986) RECEPTION THAT PROMPTED FORMER
PRESIDENT CARTER TO WALK OUT. KARIMANZIRA DID NOT,
HOWEVER, WRITE THE OFFENDING SPEECH AND WAS SPEAKING
AT THE TIME ON BEHALF OF THE FOREIGN MINISTER.
¶22. (U) MINISTER OF YOUTH, SPORT, AND CULTURE: DAVID
KWIDINI
— HAS TAKEN OVER THIS MINISTRY FROM DAVID
KARIMANZIRA. KWIDINI IS AN NDEBELE WHO, AS A ZAPU MP
AND MEMBER OF THE ZAPU CENTRAL COMMITTEE, CROSSED OVER
TO JOIN ZANU IN MAY 1986. THIS IS KWIDINI’S FIRST
APPOINTMENT TO GOVERNMENT. KWIDINI IS AN EDUCATOR BY
PROFESSION AND IS NOW ALSO SERVING AS THE INTERIM
SECRETARY GENERAL OF THE ALL AFRICA PARLIAMENTRAY
COUNCIL ON POPULATION AND DEVELOPMENT.
¶23. (U) MINISTER OF JUSTICE, LEGAL AND PARLIAMENTARY
AFFAIRS: EMMERSON MNANGAGWA (ALSO SPELLED MUNANGAGWA)
— TOOK OVER THIS PORTFOLIO FROM EDDISON ZVOBGO, WHO IS
NOW ONE OF THE MINISTERS OF STATE FOR POLITICAL AFFAIRS
ATTACHED TO ZANU HEADQUARTERS. MNANGAGWA IS A VETERAN
ZANLA GUERILLA LEADER WHO, SINCE INDEPENDENCE, HAS
SERVED AS THE MINISTER OF STATE FOR NATIONAL SECURITY.
MNANGAGWA JOINED ZANU IN 1963, AND WAS AMONG THE FIRST
GROUP OF FIVE ZANU GUERILLAS TO TRAVEL TO THE PRC FOR
TRAINING. HE WAS ARRESTED BY THE RHODESIAN SECURITY
FORCES IN 1965 AND WAS IMPRISONED UNTIL 1974. ONCE
RELEASED, HE WENT TO ZAMBIA AND OBTAINED A LAW DEGREE.
HE WAS ADMITTED TO THE ZAMBIAN BAR IN 1976. MNANGAGWA
IS THE ZANU POLITBURO SECRETARY FOR NATIONAL SECURITY.
HE IS MARRIED AND HAS FOUR CHILDREN.
¶24. (C) MNANGAGWA HAS BEEN A LONG-TIME ADVISOR TO
MUGABE ON SECURITY MATTERS, AND SOURCES REPORT THAT HE
EXPECTED TO BE NAMED MINISTER OF DEFENSE OR HOME AFFAIRS
IN THE NEW CABINET. ACCORDING TO OUR SOURCES, A
ZEZURU CLIQUE (LED BY NATHAN SHAMUYARIRA AND SIDNEY
SEKERAMAYI) IN THE GOZ PERSUADED MUGABE NOT TO APPOINT
MNANGAGWA, A KARANGA, TO A SECURITY MINISTRY. WE
UNDERSTAND THAT MNANGAGWA WAS DISAPPOINTED WITH HIS
NEW ASSIGNMENT AS JUSTICE MINISTER, ESPECIALLY SINCE
JUSTICE’S MOST IMPORTANT TASK IN RECENT YEARS (I.E.
DRAFTING THE CONSTITUTIONAL AMENDMENTS FOR ENDING
RACIAL REPRESENTATION IN PARLIAMENT AND ESTABLISHING
AN EXECUTIVE PRESIDENCY) HAS BEEN COMPLETED. WE HEARD
THAT MNANGAGWA WAS EVEN CONSIDERING AT ONE POINT RETIRING
FROM GOVERNMENT AND GOING INTO PRIVATE BUSINESS, BUT
HE IS NOW SAID TO HAVE ACCEPTED HIS NEW POSITION. IT
IS STILL NOT CLEAR, HOWEVER, IF MNANGAGWA WILL CONTINUE
TO SERVE AS ZANU’S SECRETARY FOR NATIONAL SECURITY.
¶25. (U) MINISTER OF STATE FOR NATIONAL SECURITY: SYDNEY
SEKERAMAYI
— HAS TAKEN OVER MNANGAGWA’S FORMER POSITION AND
OPERATES OUT OF THE PRESIDENT’S OFFICE. SEKERAMAYI IS A
PHYSICIAN BY TRAINING (HAVING BEEN ONE OF THE FIRST
STUDENTS TO BE SPONSORED BY ZANU FOR OVERSEAS STUDIES IN
THE 1960’S; HE STUDIED IN CZECHOSLOVAKIA AND SWEDEN
WHERE HE OBTAINED HIS M.D.). HE BRIEFLY WORKED IN
SWEDEN BEFORE MOVING TO SET UP HIS MEDICAL PRACTICE IN
ZAMBIA, WHERE HE REMAINED UNTIL 1976 WHEN HE WENT TO UK
FOR SPECIALIZED SURGICAL TRAINING. HE WAS RECALLED BY
ZANU TO SERVE WITH ZANLA IN MOZAMBIQUE. HE JOINED THE
ZANU CENTRAL COMMITTEE IN 1977. HE IS NOW A MEMBER OF
THE POLITBURO AND SERVES AS THE PARTY’S SECRETARY FOR
TRANSPORT. IN 1980 SEKERAMAYI BECAME THE MINISTER OF
LANDS, RESETTLEMENT, AND RURAL DEVELOPMENT. HE BECAME
THE MINISTER OF STATE FOR DEFENSE IN FEBRUARY 1982 AND
WAS THE ACTING MINISTER OF HEALTH. HE WAS FORMALLY
APPOINTED AS MINISTER OF HEALTH IN JANUARY 1984 AND HELD
THAT PORTFOLIO UNTIL THE FORMATION OF THIS NEW CABINET.
SEKERAMAYI WAS BORN IN 1944 AND IS MARRIED.
¶26. (C) SEKERAMAYI IS A ZEZURU, WHICH SEEMS TO HAVE BEEN
THE MAIN REASON IN COMBINATION WITH HIS PREVIOUS
EXPERIENCE AS THE MINISTER OF STATE FOR DEFENSE, FOR
REPLACING MNANGAGWA AS THE MINISTER OF STATE FOR
NATIONAL SECURITY. WE HAVE HEARD THAT SEKERAMAYI WAS,
ALONG WITH NEW FOMIN SHAMUYARIRA, ONE OF THE LEADERS
OF THE ZEZURU CLIQUE WHICH BLOCKED MNANGAGWA’S APPOINTMENT
AS MINISTER OF DEFENSE. SEKERAMAYI CAN BE EXPECTED
THEREFORE TO SUPPORT THE ZEZURU NOMINATION OF THE GOZ
TO THE EXCLUSION OF THE KARANGA. HE IS AN IMPRESSIVE
INDIVIDUAL IN CONVERSATION AND APPEARS BOTH BRIGHTER
AND MORE ARTICULATE THAN MOST OF HIS COLLEAGUES. HE
MUST BE CONSIDERED AS A POSSIBLE FUTURE PRESIDENT.
¶27. (U) MINISTER OF HEALTH: BRIGADIER FELIX MUCHEMWA
— HAS TAKEN OVER FROM SYDNEY SEKERAMAYI AS THE NEW
MINISTER OF HEALTH. MUCHEMWA IS THE FORMER DIRECTOR OF
THE ARMY’S MEDICAL SERVICES, AND SERVED AS THE COMMANDER
OF THE PRESIDENTIAL GUARD UNTIL OCTOBER 1987 WHEN HE WAS
ELECTED AS A NON-CONSTITUENT MEMBER OF PARLIAMENT.
MUCHEMWA WAS FORMERLY A ZANLA GUERILLA.
¶28. (C) MUCHEMWA IS A MANYIKA AND AS SUCH CAN BE
EXPECTED TO SUPPORT THE POLITICAL STATUS QUO. SOURCES
HAVE TOLD US THAT MUCHEMWA WAS, IN EFFECT, “KICKED
UPSTAIRS” BY MUGABE WHEN MUGABE INCLUDED MUCHEMWA ON
THE ZANU LIST FOR ELECTION TO A NON-CONSTITUENT SEAT
IN THE HOUSE OF ASSEMBLY. AS A RESULT OF THIS ELECTION,
MUCHEMWA, WHO ONLY BECAME A BRIGADIER IN NOVEMBER 1986,
HAD TO RESIGN FROM THE ARMY. MUCHEMWA APPARENTLY DID
NOT HAVE A GOOD REPUTATION AS A MILITARY OFFICER, AND
IT HAS BEEN SUGGESTED THAT HE HAS A DRUG PROBLEM. AS
THE FORMER DIRECTOR OF ARMY MEDICAL SERVICES, MUCHEMWA
SHOULD HAVE PICKED UP CONSIDERABLE KNOWLEDGE ON DEALING
WITH AIDS AND STD. SUCH EXPERIENCE SHOULD BE USEFUL
FOR THE MINISTRY OF HEALTH WHICH IS INCREASINGLY
PREOCCUPIED WITH AIDS IN ZIMBABWE. AS IS THE CASE WITH
THE TWO OTHER MILITARY OFFICERS WHO HAVE BEEN RECENTLY
APPOINTED TO THE GOZ, MUCHEMWA HOLDS A NON-CONSTITUENT
SEAT IN PARLIAMENT AND DOES NOT HAVE A POLITICAL BASE
OF HIS OWN. (SEE REF D FOR ADDITIONAL INFORMATION ON
THE MILITARY OFFICERS IN THE CABINET.)
¶29. (U) MINISTER OF TRANSPORT: SIMBARASHE MUMBENGEGWI
— REPLACED HERBERT USHEWOKUNZE. MUMBENGEGWI
PREVIOUSLY HELD A NUMBER OF OTHER CABINET POSTIONS AS
THE MINISTER OF WATER RESOURCES AND DEVELOPMENT, THE
MINISTER OF HOUSING, AND THE MINISTER OF PUBLIC
CONSTRUCTION AND NATIONAL HOUSING, WHICH PORTFOLIO HE
HELD UNTIL THE FORMATION OF THIS CURRENT GOVERNMENT.
MUMBENGEGWI ALSO SERVED AS DEPUTY FOREIGN MINISTER FROM
INDEPENDENCE TO FEBRUARY 1982 AND HAS ACTED AS FOREIGN
MINISTER ON A NUMBER OF OCCASIONS. HE BECAME ACTIVE IN
POLITICS AS A MEMBER OF ZAPU AND LATER ZANU YOUTH
ORGANIZATIONS. HE ATTENDED UNIVERSITY IN AUSTRALIA AND
RECEIVED A DEGREE IN EDUCATION. FROM 1973 TO 1978 HE
WAS ZANU’S CHIEF REPRESENTATIVE IN AUSTRALIA. BETWEEN
1978 AND 1980 HE WAS THE CHIEF ZANU REP IN ZAMBIA.
MUMBENGEGWI HAS BEEN A MEMBER OF PARLIAMENT SINCE 1980.
MUMBENGEGWI WAS BORN IN 1945, IS MARRIED AND HAS ONE
CHILD.
¶30. (C) MUMBENGEGWI IS SAID TO BE A LOYAL CIVIL SERVANT
RATHER THAN A POLITICIAN WITH HIS OWN POLITICAL BASE.
HE IS A KARANGA, SAID TO BE ALLIED WITH THE KARANGA
FACTION LED BY VICE PRESIDENT MUZENDA. HE HAS A
REPUTATION FOR DILIGENT HARD WORK AND HONESTY,
SUGGESTING THAT HE WAS APPOINTED TO CLEAN UP THE MESS
LEFT BY THE CORRUPT, OPPORTUNISTIC USHOWOKUNZE.
¶31. (U) MINISTER OF PUBLIC CONSTRUCTION AND NATIONAL
HOUSING: JOSEPH MSIKA
— HAS TAKEN OVER THIS MINISTRY FROM SIMBARASHE
MUMBENGEGWI. MSIKA IS THE VICE PRESIDENT OF ZAPU AND
PREVIOUSLY SERVED IN THE GOVERNMENT AS THE MINISTER OF
NATURAL RESOURCES AND WATER DEVELOPMENT FROM APRIL 1980
TO FEBRUARY 1982 WHEN ZAPU MINISTERS WERE DEPOSED.
BEFORE GOING INTO ZAPU POLITICS, MSIKA WAS TRAINED AS A
CABINET MAKER AND LATER WAS A TRADE UNION OFFICIAL IN
THE TEXTILE INDUSTRY. IN HIS NEW CABINET POSITION MSIKA
WILL BE REPORTING TO SENIOR MINISTER NKOMO, WHO IS ALSO
HIS PARTY LEADER. MSIKA WAS BORN IN 1923. MSIKA WAS
PART OF THE ZAPU DELEGATION WHICH NEGOTIATED THE
ZANU/ZAPU UNITY AGREEMENT.
¶32. (C) MSIKA IS A ZEZURU BUT WAS RAISED IN MATABELELAND
AND IS A LONG-TIME ZAPU MEMBER AND OFFICIAL. HE CAN BE
EXPECTED TO SIDE WITH JOSHUA NKOMO AND THE NDEBELES
SHOULD THEY CHALLENGE THE SHONA DOMINANCE OF THE
NATIONAL POLITICAL MACHINERY. MSIKA JOINED ZAPU AT A
TIME WHEN THAT ORGANIZATION HAD MANY ZEZURU MEMBERS AND
WAS NOT CONSIDERED AN NDEBELE TRIBAL ENCLAVE. SUBSEQUENT
DIVISIONS IN ZAPU IN THE EARLY 1960’S CAUSED MANY SHONA
TO SHIFT ALLEGIANCE TO ZANU. MSIKA REMAINED LOYAL TO
ZAPU.
¶33. (U) MINISTER OF LABOUR, MANPOWER PLANNING, AND
SOCIAL WELFARE: JOHN NKOMO
— ANOTHER HIGH RANKING ZAPU LEADER WHO HAS BEEN NAMED
TO THE CABINET. NKOMO TAKES OVER AS MINISTER OF LABOUR
FROM FREDRICK SHAVA. NKOMO (WHO IS NOT RELATED TO ZAPU
PRESIDENT JOSHUA NKOMO) PREVIOUSLY SERVED IN GOVERNMENT
AS DEPUTY MINISTER FOR INDUSTRY AND ENERGY DEVELOPMENT
UNTIL APRIL 1982 WHEN HE WAS APPOINTED AS THE MINISTER
OF STATE WITH SPECIAL RESPONSIBILITY TO THE DEPUTY PRIME
MINISTER. IN THIS CAPACITY IT IS SAID THAT HE DEVELOPED
AN OVERALL KNOWLEDGE OF THE OPERATIONS OF EACH
MINISTRY. NKOMO WAS RELIEVED OF HIS GOVERNMENT
RESPONSIBILITIES BY THE PRIME MINISTER IN NOVEMBER 1984
BECAUSE HE CONTINUED TO SIT ON THE ZAPU CENTRAL
COMMITTEE. NKOMO IS THE ZAPU SECRETARY FOR PUBLICITY
AND WAS A MEMBER OF THE ZAPU DELEGATION WHICH NEGOTIATED
THE ZANU/ZAPU UNITY AGREEMENT. NKOMO TRAVELED TO THE
UNITED STATES IN 1986 AS A USIA IV GRANTEE.
¶34. (C) EMBASSY HAS FOUND NKOMO TO BE A USEFUL AND
THOUGHTFUL INTERLOCUTOR. HE SEEMS TO HAVE A CLEAR
UNDERSTANDING OF ZIMBABWE’S PROBLEMS AND IS INCLINED
TO ACT. AS THE NEW MINISTER OF LABOUR, NKOMO HAS
PUBLICALLY STATED THAT THE COUNTRY’S LABOUR RELATIONS
ACT (LRA) NEEDS ADJUSTMENT. IN PRIVATE, HOWEVER, HE
TOLD US THAT THE LRA NEEDS TO BE SUBSTANTIALLY OVERHAULED.
NKOMO IS A SHREWD POLITICIAN WHO SOMETIMES APPEARS TO
BE PLAYING BOTH SIDES OF THE STREET AT ONCE. THERE ARE
STORIES THAT HE SPOKE OUT IN ZAPU COUNCILS AGAINST UNITY
WITH ZANU WHILE AT THE SAME TIME KEEPING IN CLOSE
CONTACT WITH ZANU OFFICIALS. IT IS WORTH NOTING THAT
NKOMO REMAINED IN HIS PREVIOUS GOZ POSITION UNTIL 1984
WHEN ALL OTHER ZANU OFFICIALS WERE SACKED FROM THE GOZ
IN 1982.
¶35. (U) MINISTER OF HIGHER EDUCATION: DZINGAI MUTUMBUKA
— HAS BEEN THE MINISTER OF EDUCATION SINCE 1980, BUT
WITH THE FORMATION OF THIS NEW CABINET, HE HAS LOST
RESPONSIBILITY FOR PRIMARY AND SECONDARY SCHOOL
EDUCATION (WHICH HAVE BEEN GROUPED INTO A NEW MINISTRY
UNDER THE DIRECTION OF FAY CHUNG) AND WILL NOW CONTINUE
AS THE MINISTER OF HIGHER EDUCATION. MUTUMBUKA IS A
MEMBER OF THE ZANU POLITBURO, AND SERVES AS THE PARTY’S
SECRETARY FOR PRODUCTION, CONSTRUCTION AND DEVELOPMENT.
MUTUMBUKA WAS ONE OF THE FIRST PERSONS TO JOIN ZANU IN
THE 1970’S WHO HAD A HIGHER EDUCATION. HE OBTAINED A
DOCTORATE DEGREE IN CHEMISTRY IN THE UK AND TAUGHT
CHEMISTRY IN ZAMBIA UNTIL HE JOINED THE ARMED STUGGLE IN
¶1974. HE HAS REPRESENTED ZANU AT A NUMBER OF
INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCES. MUTUMBUKA TRAVELED TO THE
UNITED STATES IN 1982 AS A USIA IV GRANTEE.
¶36. (C) MUTUMBUKA IS A KARANGA WHO HAS BEEN LOYAL TO
MUGABE AND THE ZEZURU CLIQUE. NONETHELESS, THERE HAS
BEEN SPECULATION THAT AS A KARANGA HE WAS DISCRIMINATED
AGAINST IN THE FORMATION OF THIS NEW CABINET WHEN MORE
THAN HALF OF HIS PORTFOLIO WAS TAKEN FROM HIM. WE HAVE
HEARD THAT MUTUMBUKA IS ANGERED THAT HIS PORTFOLIO HAS
BEEN REDUCED TO HIGHER EDUCATION SINCE THERE IS ONLY ONE
INSTITUTE OF HIGHER EDUCATION (THE UNIVERSITY IN
ZIMBABWE) FOR HIM TO OVERSEE. THE ISSUE OF WHICH
MINISTRY WILL BE IN CHARGE OF VOCATIONAL TRAINING HAS
NOT YET BEEN SETTLED. THERE IS, HOWEVER, AN ALTERNATIVE
EXPLANATION FOR THE REDUCTION OF MUTUMBUKA’S PORTFOLIO.
SINCE 1980 MUTUMBUKA HAS BEEN RESPONSIBLE FOR THE
GOVERNMENT’S POLICY OF MASS EDUCATION WHICH EACH YEAR
TURNS OUT INCREASINGLY LARGE NUMBERS OF “SCHOOL LEAVERS”
WHO EXPECT WHITE COLLAR EMPLOYMENT OR POSITIONS IN THE
UNIVERSITY. BECAUSE THE UNIVERSITY CAN ONLY ADMIT A
SMALL NUMBER OF THE SCHOOL LEAVERS EACH YEAR, AND
JOB CREATION OUTSIDE OF THE CIVIL SERVICE HAS BEEN
VIRTUALLY NIL, THE POOL OF ZIMBABWE’S UNEMPLOYED YOUNG
PEOPLE IS GROWING RAPIDLY AND THE GOZ IS NOW VERY
CONCERNED ABOUT THE POLITICAL AND SOCIAL IMPLICATIONS
OF SUCH AN UNEMPLOYMENT PROBLEM. IT MAY BE THEREFORE
THAT MUGABE BLAMES MUTUMBUKA FOR THIS “SCHOOL LEAVERS”
CRISIS AND HAS PUNISHED HIM BY TAKING AWAY RESPONSIBILITY
FOR PRIMARY AND SECONDARY EDUCATION.
¶37. MINISTER OF PRIMARY AND SECONDARY EDUCATION: FAY
CHUNG
— HAS TAKEN OVER THIS NEW MINISTRY WHICH WAS SPUN OFF
FROM THE ORIGINAL MINISTRY OF EDUCATION. CHUNG, A
ZIMBABWEAN OF CHINESE DESCENT, WAS NAMED DEPUTY MINISTER
OF EDUCATION SHORTLY BEFORE HER ELECTION TO PARLIAMENT
AS A NON-CONSTITUENT MEMBER OF THE HOUSE OF ASSEMBLY IN
OCTOBER 1987. SHE HAD SERVED IN THE MINISTRY’S
CURRICULUM DEVELOPMENT UNIT FROM 1983 TO 1987. CHUNG
WAS A PRIMARY AND SECONDARY SCHOOL TEACHER. SHE JOINED
ZANU IN 1973 AND MOVED TO MOZAMBIQUE IN 1975 WHERE SHE
WORKED IN POLITICAL EDUCATION AND CURRICULUM
DEVELOPMENT. IN THIS CAPACITY SHE WAS RESPONSIBLE FOR
TEACHER TRAINING AND TEXTBOOK PRODUCTION. CHUNG’S
TEACHER-TRAINING PROGRAM IN MOZAMBIQUE IS SAID TO HAVE
BEEN THE FORERUNNER OF THE CURRENT ZIMBABWE INTEGRATED
NATIONAL TEACHER EDUCATION COURSE (ZINTEC), IN WHICH
CHUNG HAS CONTINUED TO BE ACTIVE. SHE ALSO HAD A ROLE
IN DEVELOPING THE ZIMBABWE FOUNDATION FOR EDUCATION WITH
PRODUCTION (ZIMFEP). CHUNG RECEIVED HER B.A. AT THE
UNIVERSITY OF RHODESIA, AND EARNED AN M.A. AT LEEDS (UK)
UNIVERSITY. SHE WAS BORN IN 1941 AND HAS ONE CHILD.
SHE IS EXPECTED TO TRAVEL TO THE US ON A USIS IV GRANT
IN MID-1981.
¶38. (C) CHUNG HAS BEEN CHARACTERIZED BY A LOCAL OPINION
MAGAZINE AS THE “STAR APPOINTEE” IN THE NEW GOVERNMENT,
AND IT IS CLEAR THAT CHUNG’S STAR HAS BEEN ON THE RISE
IN THE LAST YEAR. CHUNG, WHO HAS A REPUTATION FOR
HAVING RADICAL POLITICAL VIEWS, IS SAID TO HAVE BEEN A
LECTURER ON IDEOLOGY FOR THE ZANLA CADRES IN MOZAMBIQUE.
CHUNG REPORTEDLY IS ALSO A DEVOUT CATHOLIC. SHE HAD
HER CHILD DURING HER STAY IN THE BUSH, BUT SHE DID NOT
MARRY, AND THE FATHER’S IDENTITY IS NOT PUBLICLY KNOWN.
WHILE IN MOZAMBIQUE CHUNG WAS REPORTEDLY CLOSE TO MUGABE,
BUT WE UNDERSTAND THAT SHE AND MUGABE HAD A SERIOUS
FALLING OUT WHICH RESULTED IN HER BEING IGNORED BY THE
PARTY AND UNEMPLOYED AFTER INDEPENDENCE. THIS INCIDENT
HAS NOT BEEN MENTIONED IN THE PRESS WHICH HAS FEATURED
ARTICLES ON HER RECENTLY. WE DO NOT KNOW WHAT PROMPTED
CHUNG’S RECENT RETURN TO FAVOR WITH MUGABE. CHUNG DOES
NOT HAVE AN INDEPENDENT POLITICAL BASE AND HER POSITION
RESTS ON THE CONTINUED FAVOR OF MUGABE. HER RAPID
ELEVATION TO THE MINISTRY OF PRIMARY AND SECONDARY
EDUCATION MAY VERY WELL BE DUE TO THE URGENT NEED FOR
THE GOZ TO RESTRUCTURE THE EDUCATIONAL SYSTEM TO REMEDY
THE SCHOOL LEAVER CRISIS.
¶39. (U) MINISTER OF COMMUNITY AND CO-OPERATIVE
DEVELOPMENT AND WOMEN’S AFFAIRS: TERAI ROPA (JOYCE)
MUJURU A/K/A: TERAI ROPA NHONGO
— IS A MEMBER OF THE ZANU POLITBURO AND SERVES AS
PARTY SECRETARY FOR WOMEN’S AFFAIRS. IN 1980 SHE BECAME
THE FIRST WOMAN AND YOUNGEST MEMBER OF THE CABINET WHEN
SHE WAS APPOINTED AS THE MINISTER OF YOUTH, SPORT, AND
CULTURE. SINCE JANUARY 1981 SHE HAS SERVED AS THE
MINISTER OF STATE FOR COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT AND WOMEN’S
AFFAIRS ATTACHED TO THE PRIME MINISTER’S OFFICE. WITH
THE FORMATION OF THIS NEW GOVERNMENT, MUJURU’S OFFICE
HAS BEEN CONVERTED INTO A MINISTRY WITH THE ADDITION OF
COOPERATIVE DEVELOPMENT ADDED TO THE PORTFOLIO. DURING
THE STRUGGLE FOR INDEPENDENCE, MUJURU JOINED ZANLA IN
1973, BECAME A MEMBER OF THE GENERAL STAFF, AND WAS
OVERALL COMMANDER OF THE WOMEN’S DETACHMENT WHEN IT WAS
FORMED IN 1974. MUJURU IS A MEMBER OF THE POLITBURO AND
SERVES AS THE PARTY SECRETARY FOR WOMENS AFFAIRS. SHE
IS MARRIED TO THE ARMY COMMANDER AND HAS THREE CHILDREN,
BUT IS ESTRANGED FROM HIM. SHE IS A ZEZURU AND WAS BORN
IN 1955.
¶40. (U) MINISTER OF NATURAL RESOURCES AND TOURISM:
VICTORIA CHITEPO
— IS THE THIRD AND FINAL WOMAN IN THE CABINET. SHE
HAS HELD THIS PORTFOLIO SINCE FEBRUARY 1982, HAVING
PREVIOUSLY SERVED AS DEPUTY MINISTER SINCE JANUARY
¶1981. HER PREVIOUS ASSIGNMENT WAS AS DEPUTY MINISTER
FOR EDUCATION AND CULTURE, TO WHICH SHE WAS APPOINTED IN
¶1980. CHITEPO, A TEACHER BY TRAINING, IS THE WIDOW OF
HERBERT CHITEPO, THE ZANU NATIONAL CHAIRMAN WHO WAS
ASSASSINATED IN ZAMBIA IN 1977. SHE TRAVELED TO THE US
IN 1985 ON A USIA IV GRANT. CHITEPO WAS BORN IN 1927.
¶41. (C) CHITEPO IS SAID TO OWE HER POSITION IN GOVERNMENT
TO RESPECT FOR HER LATE HUSBAND. SHE IS A VERY POOR
ADMINISTRATOR. SHE IS A MANYIKA, BUT DOES NOT APPARENTLY
HAVE HER OWN POLITICAL FOLLOWING.
¶42. (U) MINISTER OF LOCAL GOVERNMENT, RURAL AND URBAN
DEVELOPMENT: ENOS CHIKORWORE
— HAS HELD THIS PORTFOLIO SINCE FEBRUARY 1982. HE
PREVIOUSLY WAS APPOINTED AS DEPUTY MINISTER IN JANUARY
¶1981. CHIKOWORE BECAME ACTIVE IN POLITICS IN THE LATE
1950’S AND JOINED ZANU IN 1963. AFTER BEING DETAINED HE
WENT TO ZAMBIA WERE HE SERVED AS THE PARTY’S FIRST
SECRETARY FOR YOUTH AFFAIRS AND WAS ACTIVE IN THE
RECRUITING OF CADRES. HE LEFT TO STUDY IN THE UK IN
1967 AND RETURNED TO ZIMBABWE IN 1980 WHERE HE WAS
ELECTED TO THE HOUSE OF ASSEMBLY AS A REPRESENTATIVE
FROM MASHONALAND WEST. CHIKOWORE WAS BORN IN 1936 AND
IS A ZEZURU.
¶43. (U) MINISTER OF ENERGY, WATER RESOURCES AND
DEVELOPMENT: KUMBIRAI KANGAI
— HAS ALSO RETAINED HIS FORMER CABINET POSITION.
KANGAI JOINED THE GOVERNMENT IN 1980 AND FIRST SERVED AS
THE MINISTER OF LABOR. HE LATER BECAME THE MINISTER OF
ENERGY, WATER RESOURCES AND DEVELOPMENT, THE POSITION HE
CONTINUES TO HOLD. A TEACHER BY PROFESSION, KANGAI
JOINED ZANU IN 1963 BUT WENT TO THE US IN 1964 WHEN HE
LOST HIS TEACHING POSITION FOLLOWING AN ARREST FOR
POLITICAL ACTIVITIES. HE STUDIED AT THE UNIVERSITY OF
CALIFORNIA (CAMPUS UNKNOWN) UNTIL 1972, AND SERVED AS
ZANU’S CHIEF REPRESENTATIVE TO NORTH AMERICA DURING PART
OF THAT TIME. HE WENT TO ZAMBIA IN 1973 AND WAS ELECTED
AS A MEMBER OF THE ZANU REVOLUTIONARY COUNCIL (DARE).
KANGAI, A MANYIKA, WAS BORN IN 1938.
¶44. (U) MINISTER OF MINES: RICHARD HOVE
— BECAME THE MINISTER OF MINES IN JULY 1985, AND HE
RETAINS THAT PORTFOLIO IN THE NEW GOVERNMENT. HOVE
ENTERED THE GOVERNMENT IN 1980 AS THE MINISTER OF PUBLIC
SERVICE. HE BECAME THE MINISTER OF HOME AFFAIRS IN
1981, AND THE MINISTER OF TRADE AND COMMERCE IN 1982.
DURING THE EARLY 1960’S, HOVE WAS STUDYING BUSINESS AT
THE UNIVERSTIY OF BOMBAY. AFTER JOINING UP WITH ZANU IN
LUSAKA, HE WAS APPOINTED THE PARTY’S CHIEF
REPRESENTATIVE TO WESTERN EUROPE. HE WAS RECALLED TO
LUSAKA IN 1971 AND WAS NAMED THE SECRETARY FOR EXTERNAL
AFFAIRS AND ELECTED TO THE REVOLUTIONARY COUNCIL. HOVE
LATER MOVED TO MOZAMBIQUE WITH OTHER ZANU OFFICIALS
WHERE HE CONTINUED TO SERVED AS THE DEPUTY SECRETARY FOR
EXTERNAL AFFAIRS. HOVE, A KARANGA ATTACHED TO THE
FACTION LED BY VICE PRESIDENT MUZENDA, WAS BORN IN
¶1935. HE IS MARRIED AND HAS FOUR CHILDREN.
¶45. (U) MINISTER OF INDUSTRY AND TECHNOLOGY: CALLISTUS
NDLOVU
— HAS BEEN REAPPOINTED TO THIS MINISTRY, A POSITION
WHICH HE HAS HELD SINCE JULY 1985. PRIOR TO THIS
ASSIGNMENT, NDLOVU WAS APPOINTED MINISTER OF
CONSTRUCTION IN JANUARY 1982, AND LATER TOOK OVER THE
MINISTRY OF MINES FROM MAURICE NYAGUMBO IN JANUARY
¶1984. NDLOVU SWITCHED HIS PARTY AFFILIATION FROM ZAPU
TO ZANU IN JUNE 1974 AND WAS APPOINTED AS THE ZANU
CHAIRMAN IN MATABELELAND NORTH. NDLOVU IS A TEACHER BY
PROFESSION, HAVING BEEN EDUCATED IN LESOTHO. HE WAS
DETAINED IN 1967, AFTER WHICH HE LEFT ON FELLOWSHIP TO
STUDY POLITICAL SCIENCE AT N.Y.U. FROM 1967 TO 1980 HE
WAS AN ASSOCIATE PROFESSOR OF HISTORY AND POLITICAL
SCIENCE, AND WAS DIRECTOR OF THE AFRICAN STUDIES
INSTITUTE AT HOFSTRA UNIVERSITY. NDLOVU ALSO SERVED AS
ZAPU’S CHIEF REPRESENTATIVE AT THE UN FROM 1973 TO 1979.
BEFORE BECOMING A MINISTER IN 1982, NDLOVU WAS AN
INDUSTRIAL RELATIONS MANAGER WITH UNION CARBIDE. HE
TRAVELED TO THE US IN 1981 ON A USIA IV GRANT. NDLOVU
IS IDENTIFIED WITH THE NDEBELE, BUT IT IS SAID THAT HE
IS ACTUALLY FROM THE KALANGA TRIBE (WHICH WAS VIRTUALLY
INCORPORATED INTO THE NDEBELE). HE WAS BORN IN 1936 AND
IS MARRIED WITH FOUR CHILDREN.
¶46. (C) NDLOVU REPORTEDLY REMAINS A FAVORITE OF ZAPU
LEADER JOSHUA NKOMO DESPITE NDLOVU’S DEFECTION TO ZANU.
HOWEVER, BECAUSE OF HIS DEFECTION FROM ZAPU HE HAS
LITTLE POLITICAL SUPPORT IN MATABELELAND.
¶47. (U) MINISTER OF TRADE AND COMMERCE: OLIVER
MUNYARADZI
— HAS ALSO BEEN REAPPOINTED TO HIS PREVIOUS POSITION.
HE BECAME THE MINISTER OF TRADE AND COMMERCE IN JULY
¶1985. HE FIRST ENTERED GOVERNMENT IN 1980 WHEN HE WAS
APPOINTED DEPUTY MINISTER OF FINANCE. IN 1982 HE BECAME
MINISTER OF HEALTH. MUNYARADZI WAS APPONTED MINISTER OF
STATE FOR ENERGY IN 1984 AND IN NOVEMBER OF THE SAME
YEAR HE BECAME THE MINISTER OF ENERGY AND WATER
RESOURCES AND DEVELOPMENT, WHICH HE HELD UNTIL HIS
APPOINTMENT TO HIS PRESENT POSITION AS COMMERCE MINISTER
IN 1985. HE WAS SEVERELY INJURED IN AN AUTOMOBILE
ACCIDENT IN 1986 WHICH AFFECTED HIS CAPACITY TO WORK.
HE HAS NOT RETURNED TO FULL EFFECTIVENESS SINCE THE
ACCIDENT. MUNYARADZI IS A PHYSICIAN BY TRAINING. HE
GRADUATED FROM THE UNIVERSITY OF DURBAN AND RECEIVED
SPECIAL SURGICAL TRAINING IN THE UK IN 1969. UPON HIS
RETURN HE WAS ACTIVE IN ZANU INTERNAL POLITICS AND WAS
DETAINED IN 1976. IN 1978 HE BECAME A SENIOR LECTURER
IN SURGERY AT THE UNIVERSITY OF RHODESIA. MUNYARADZI IS
MARRIED AND HAS THREE SONS. HE WAS BORN IN 1933 AND IS
A KARANGA.
¶48. (U) MINISTER OF NATIONAL SUPPLIES: SIMBI MUBAKO
— MUBAKO HAS SERVED AS MINISTER OF NATIONAL SUPPLIES
SINCE JULY 1985. MUBAKO IS CONSIDERED TO BE ONE OF THE
BEST EDUCATED MEMBERS OF THE CABINET. HE BEGAN HIS
CAREER AS A JOURNALIST AND WAS ONE OF THE FOUNDERS OF
THE WEEKLY NEWS AND OPINION MAGAZINE “MOTO”. HE LATER
OBTAINED LAW DEGREES AT TRINITY COLLEGE (DUBLIN), AND
CONTINUED LAW STUDIES IN LONDON. HE WAS A LECTURER IN
LAW AT SOUTHAMPTON UNIVERSITY (UK) FROM 1976 TO 1979.
HE WAS A PROFESSOR AND DEAN AT THE UNIVERSITY OF LESOTHO
UNTIL HE RETURNED TO ZIMBABWE IN 1980 AND WAS APPOINTED
AS MINISTER OF JUSTICE IN MUGABE’S FIRST CABINET. HE
WAS LATER APPOINTED AS THE MINISTER OF HOME AFFAIRS IN
1984 AND HELD THAT POSITION UNTIL HE WAS APPOINTED AS
THE MINISTER OF NATIONAL SUPPLIES IN 1985. MUBAKO IS
THOUGHT TO BE A KARANGA. HE WAS BORN IN 1936, IS
MARRIED, AND HAS THREE CHILDREN.
¶49. (U) MINISTER OF STATE FOR THE PUBLIC SERVICE: CHRIS
ANDERSON
— ANDERSON, CONSIDERED BY SOME TO BE THE BEST LAWYER
IN ZIMBABWE, RETAINS HIS PORTFOLIO AS THE MINISTER OF
STATE FOR PUBLIC SERVICE, A POSITION HE HAS HELD SINCE
¶1982. ANDERSON BECAME A MEMBER OF PARLIAMENT FOR THE
RHODESIAN FRONT IN 1974. HE WAS APPOINTED MINISTER OF
JUSTICE IN THE SMITH GOVERNMENT IN 1978 AND LATER BECAME
THE MINISTER OF JUSTICE IN THE MUZOREWA GOVERNMENT IN
¶1979. ANDERSON CONTINUED TO SERVE IN PARLIAMENT AFTER
INDEPENDENCE IN 1980, BUT HE LEFT THE RHODESIAN FRONT IN
1982 TO BECOME AN INDEPENDENT. MUGABE APPOINTED HIM
MINISTER OF STATE FOR PUBLIC SERVICE THAT SAME YEAR.
ANDERSON IS THE FORMER HEAD OF THE BAR AND CONTINUES TO
SIT AS AN INDEPENDENT MEMBER OF THE PARLIAMENT. BORN IN
JOHANNESBURG IN 1935, ANDERSON CAME TO RHODESIA WITH HIS
FAMILY IN 1938. HE TRAVELED TO THE US IN 1985 ON A USIA
IV GRANT. ANDERSON IS MARRIED AND HAS THREE CHILDREN.
¶50. (C) AS A MEMBER OF THE RF, ANDERSON WAS KNOWN FOR
ESPOUSING RACIST VIEWS. HE DID A COMPLETE ABOUT FACE
IN 1982. HE IS THOUGHT TO BE KEPT IN HIS MINISTERIAL
POSITION BY MUGABE IN AN EFFORT TO PROMOTE INTEGRITY
WITHIN THE CIVIL SERVICE. HE HAS NO POLITICAL BASE IN
THE WHITE COMMUNITY AND IS NOT REGARDED BY WHITES AS
“THEIR SPOKESMAN” IN GOVERNMENT. HE IS AN AVID FLY
FISHERMAN.
¶51. (U) MINISTER OF STATE FOR NATIONAL SCHOLARSHIPS:
JOSEPH CULVERWELL
— CULVERWELL IS NEW TO THE CABINET, HAVING PREVIOUSLY
SERVED AS THE DEPUTY MINISTER OF EDUCATION. HE IS THE
ONLY “COLOURED” MINISTER. A TEACHER BY PROFESSION,
CULVERWELL WAS EDUCATED IN SOUTH AFRICA AND BRITAIN. HE
WAS IMPRISONED FOR POLITICAL ACTIVITIES IN 1967 AND
FOLLOWING HIS RELEASE WENT TO WORK AS A TEACHER IN THE
UK. DURING THIS TIME IT IS SAID THAT HE WAS ACTIVE
ASSISTING ZIMBABWEANS WHO WERE IN EXILE IN BRITAIN.
CULVERWELL RETURNED TO ZIMBABWE IN 1980 TO CAMPAIGN FOR
ZANU. AFTER THE ELECTION HE WAS APPOINTED TO THE
SENATE. CULVERWELL HAS SERVED CONTINUOUSLY IN THE
SENATE SINCE 1980 AND SINCE 1981 HE HAS SERVED AS DEPUTY
MINISTER FOR EDUCATION.
¶52. (C) CULVERWELL, A COLOURED, IS REPORTEDLY NOT VERY
POPULAR WITH THE COLOURED POPULATION IN ZIMBABWE. HIS
POLITICAL POSITION IS DUE TO HIS PERSONAL RELATIONSHIP
WITH MUGABE AND OTHER ZANU BOSSES FOR WHOM HE DID FAVORS
AND RAN ERRANDS DURING THE LANCASTER HOUSE CONFERENCE IN
LONDON. IT IS NOT AT ALL CLEAR WHAT CULVERWELL IS
EXPECTED TO DO IN THIS NEWLY CREATED POSITION AND EVEN
THE LOCAL PRESS HAS SUGGESTED THAT IT IS A “DO NOTHING”
JOB. CULVERWELL IS WELL KNOWN AS AN “OLD ROGUE” WHO IS
USUALLY SEEN IN THE COMPANY OF LADY FRIENDS MUCH YOUNGER
THAN HE. HE IS A FREQUENT VISITOR TO LOCAL NIGHT SPOTS,
THOUGH HAS GIVEN UP SMOKING AND ALCOHOL FOR HEALTH REASONS.
DEPUTY CABINET MINISTERS
————————
¶53. (U) FIFTEEN DEPUTY CABINET MINISTERS HAVE BEEN
APPOINTED TO THE NEW GOVERNMENT (UP FROM THE ELEVEN
DEPUTY MINISTERS WHICH WERE FEATURED IN THE PREVIOUS
GOVERNMENT). NOT ALL MINISTRIES HAVE DEPUTY MINISTERS,
AND WE HAVE OBSERVED THAT THE MINISTRIES WHICH DEAL MOST
DIRECTLY WITH NATIONAL SECURITY (SUCH AS FOREIGN
AFFAIRS, DEFENSE, AND HOME AFFAIRS) DO NOT/NOT HAVE
DEPUTY MINISTERS. WE HAVE BEEN INFORMED THAT THE
ABSENCE OF DEPUTY MINISTERS IS TYPICAL FOR CERTAIN KEY
MINISTRIES BECAUSE, IN THE ABSENCE OF THE MINISTER FROM
A KEY MINISTRY, MUGABE APPOINTS ANOTHER OF HIS CLOSEST
MINISTERS TO ACT IN THE PLACE OF THE ABSENT MINISTER
RATHER THAN ALLOW THE MANAGEMENT OF A KEY MINISTRY TO
FALL TO A DEPUTY MINISTER. THE DEPUTY MINISTERS IN THE
CURRENT GOVERNMENT ARE:
¶54. (U) KENNETH BUTE, DEPUTY MINISTER FOR COMMUNITY AND
COOPERATIVE DEVELOPMENT AND WOMEN’S AFFAIRS:
— BUTE IS NEW TO THE GOVERNMENT AND HIS PORTFOLIO IS A
NEW ADDITION TO THE GOZ SINCE HIS IS ONE OF THE NEWLY
CREATED MINISTRIES. BUTE ONLY RECENTLY GOT INVOLVED IN
NATIONAL POLITICS, HAVING BEEN FIRST ELECTED TO THE
HOUSE OF ASSEMBLY IN 1985 AS THE REPRESENTATIVE OF THE
GOROMONZI DISTRICT. HE IS NOT GENERALLY WELL KNOWN AND
IS SAID TO BE A BUSINESSMAN BY PROFESSION. HE IS A
ZEZURU.
¶55. (U) GEORGE CHINENGUNDU, DEPUTY MINISTER FOR JUSTICE,
LEGAL AND PARLIAMENTARY AFFAIRS:
— CHINENGUNDU IS ALSO OCCUPYING A NEWLY CREATED
POSITION. HE IS, HOWEVER, A VETERAN OF THE PREVIOUS
GOVERNMENT, HAVING PREVIOUSLY SERVED AS THE DEPUTY
MINISTER OF LOCAL GOVERNMENT AND TOWN PLANNING SINCE
¶1982. CHINENGUNDU MADE THE NEWS IN 1986 BY DISSOLVING
THE WEDZA DISTRICT COUNCIL FOR MALADMINISTRATION. HE IS
A LAWYER BY PROFESSION AND MADE HIS POLITICAL REPUTATION
BY REPRESENTING POLITICAL PRISONERS DURING THE
NATIONALIST STRUGGLE. HE WAS NOT OTHERWISE BEEN VERY
ACTIVE IN POLITICS. CHINENGUNDU IS ALSO A SENATOR. HE
IS A MANYIKA.
¶56. (U) CHARLES DUKE, DEPUTY MINISTER FOR MINES:
— DUKE IS NEW TO THE GOVERNMENT AND IS OCCUPYING
ANOTHER NEWLY-CREATED POSITION. HE IS A GEOLOGIST BY
TRAINING. DUKE, A WHITE, WAS FORMERLY A MEMBER OF
PARLIAMENT WITH THE OPPOSITION CONSERVATIVE ALLIANCE OF
ZIMBABWE (CAZ) PARTY. IN 1985 HE BECAME THE FIRST WHITE
MP TO CROSS OVER TO JOIN ZANU.
¶57. (C) DUKE IS CONSIDERED AN OPPORTUNIST AND A POLITICAL
LIGHTWEIGHT. HE IS NOT PARTICULARLY WELL REGARDED IN
THE WHITE COMMUNITY.
¶58. (U) JOCK KAY, DEPUTY MINISTER FOR LANDS, AGRICULTURE
AND RURAL RESETTLEMENT:
— KAY IS ALSO NEW TO GOVERNMENT AND IS OCCUPYING
ANOTHER NEWLY-CREATED POSITION. KAY IS THE OTHER WHITE
DEPUTY MINISTER AND, LIKE DUKE, HE WAS ONE OF THE FIRST
WHITE CAZ MEMBERS OF PARLIAMENT TO CROSS THE AISLE AND
JOIN ZANU. KAY IS A COMMERCIAL FARMER FROM THE WEDZA
DISTRICT.
¶59. (C) FELLOW WHITES, INCLUDING THE COMMERCIAL FARMERS,
ARE NOT VERY IMPRESSED WITH KAY’S APPOINTMENT. KAY IS
INEXPERIENCED IN GOVERNMENT AND HIS PROFESSIONAL
COMPETENCE IS ALSO QUESTIONABLE. THE WHITE COMMERCIAL
FARMERS GENERALLY DOUBT THAT KAY WILL BE CAPABLE OF
SAFEGUARDING THEIR INTERESTS EVEN IF HE WISHES TO.
KAY HAS BEEN A LONG-TIME, WELL-MEANING AND FAITHFUL
EMBASSY CONTACT.
¶60. (U) AMINA HUGHES, DEPUTY MINISTER OF TRANSPORT:
–HUGHES RETAINS THIS PORTFOLIO WHICH SHE HAS HELD
SINCE 1985. HUGHES, COLOURED, IS FROM MATABELELAND.
SHE FIRST BECAME INVOLVED IN POLITICS AFTER INDEPENDENCE
IN 1980 AND WAS ELECTED AS THE SECRETARY FOR THE ZANU
WOMEN’S LEAGUE IN MATABELELAND NORTH. HUGHES IS ALSO TO
BE ACTIVE IN WOMEN’S AFFAIRS. SHE WAS DEFEATED IN THE
1985 PARLIAMENTARY ELECTIONS AS A ZANU CANDIDATE IN
BULAWAYO BUT WAS SUBSEQUENTLY APPOINTED TO THE SENATE
AND BECAME THE DEPUTY MINISTER OF TRANSPORT. HUGHES IS
SAID TO BE A PROTEGE OF THE FORMER MINISTER OF
TRANSPORTATION, HERBERT USHEWOKUNZE. SHE TRAVELED TO
THE US IN 1986 ON A USIA IV GRANT. HUGHES IS A WIDOW
WITH TWO ADULT SONS.
¶61. (U) MOTON MALIANGA, DEPUTY MINISTER OF TRADE AND
COMMERCE:
— MALIANGA, A VETERAN OF THE PREVIOUS GOVERNMENT, IS
NEW TO THIS POSITION AND REPLACES CHIMBINDZAYI
SANYANGARE (WHO HAS BEEN DROPPED FROM THE GOVERNMENT).
SINCE JANUARY 1981, MALIANGA SERVED CONTINUOUSLY AS THE
DEPUTY MINISTER OF FINANCE AND ECONOMIC PLANNING. HE IS
A VETERAN NATIONALIST, FIRST BECOMING INVOLVED IN
NATIONALISTS POLITICS IN THE LATE 1950’S. HE WAS
ARRESTED IN 1962 AND, UPON HIS RELEASE A YEAR LATER,
JOINED ZANU AND BECAME THE PARTY REPRESENTATIVE IN
CAIRO. MALIANGA RETURNED TO RHODESIA IN LATE 1964 AND
WAS ARRESTED AGAIN. WHILE IN PRISON, HE STUDIED
BUSINESS AND LAW BY CORRESPONDENCE. HE WAS RELEASED IN
1971 AND BECAME OF MEMBER OF THE ANC CENTRAL COMMITTEE.
HE WAS A MEMBER OF THE ANC NEGOTIATING TEAMS AT THE
VICTORIA FALLS TALKS AND AT THE GENEVA CONFERENCE.
MALIANGA WAS NOT ACTIVE IN POLITICS IN THE LATTER
1970’S; HE RE-EMERGED IN 1980 WHEN HE WAS ELECTED AS A
ZANU MEMBER OF PARLIAMENT. MALIANGA WAS BORN IN 1930.
HE IS A MANYIKA.
¶62. (U) KENNETH MANYONDA, DEPUTY MINISTER OF
INFORMATION, POSTS AND TELECOMMUNICATIONS:
— MANYONDA IS NEW TO THE CABINET, AND TAKES THIS
POSITION FROM NAOMI NHIWATIWA, WHO HAS RECENTLY BEEN
APPOINTED AS A MINISTER OF STATE FOR POLITICAL AFFAIRS
ATTACHED TO ZANU HEADQUARTERS. MANYONDA IS A MEMBER OF
PARLIAMENT AND PREVIOUSLY SERVED AS THE DIRECTOR OF
PERSONNEL FOR THE POSTS AND TELECOMMUNICATIONS
CORPORATION (PTC), A PARASTATAL WHICH OPERATES UNDER THE
MINISTRY OF INFORMATION. HE IS A FORMER TRADE UNIONIST
AND IS SAID TO HAVE BEEN A LEADER IN THE ZANU YOUTH
ORGANIZATION. MANYONDA IS A MANYIKA.
¶63. (U) ROBERT MARARE, DEPUTY MINISTER FOR PUBLIC
CONSTRUCTION AND NATIONAL HOUSING:
— MARARE IS ONE OF THE TWO INCUMBENT DEPUTY MINISTERS
WHO CONTINUES TO HOLD THE SAME PORTFOLIO. HE HAS BEEN
DEPUTY MINISTER FOR PUBLIC CONSTRUCTION SINCE 1982.
MARARE IS ANOTHER VETERAN NATIONALIST WHO FIRST BECAME
INVOLVED IN POLITICS IN THE EARLY 1950’S. HE WAS
ARRESTED AND DETAINED AT VARIOUS TIMES DURING THE
STRUGGLE FOR INDEPENDENCE AND WAS A ZANU DELEGATE TO THE
GENEVA CONFERENCE. MARARE WAS ELECTED AS A ZANU MEMBER
OF PARLIAMENT IN 1980. MARARE WAS BORN IN 1919 AND IS
MARRIED WITH SEVEN CHILDREN. HE IS IDENTIFIED WITH THE
ZEZURU.
¶64. (U) LTC. HERBERT MAHLABA (ALSO KNOWN AS BY HIS NOM
DE GUERRE: “CLEMENCE GAZA”), DEPUTY MINISTER OF LABOUR,
MANPOWER PLANNING AND SOCIAL WELFARE:
— MAHLABA IS ALSO NEW TO THE GOVERNMENT AND HE
OCCUPIES ANOTHER NEWLY CREATED POSITION. MAHLABA IS A
MILITARY OFFICER BY PROFESSION, HAVING PREVIOUSLY BEEN A
ZANLA COMBATANT DURING THE NATIONALIST STRUGGLE.
MAHLABA HAS RECENTLY RECEIVED A GOOD DEAL OF PUBLIC
ATTENTION AS THE CHAIRMAN OF THE ZIMBABWE-MOZAMBIQUE
FRIENDSHIP ASSOCIATION (ZIMOFA), WHICH HAS BEEN RAISING
RELIEF AID IN ZIMBABWE FOR MOZAMBIQUE. MAHLABA ONLY
RECENTLY BECAME INVOLVED IN POLITICS WHEN HE WAS ELECTED
TO A NON-CONSTITUENT ASSEMBLY SEAT IN OCTOBER 1987.
MAHLABA WAS REQUIRED TO RESIGN HIS COMMISSION AT THE
TIME OF HIS ELECTION TO PARLIAMENT. HE IS AN KARANGA.
¶65. (C) MAHLABA WAS AN UNDISTINGUISHED ARMY OFFICER WHO
HAS THE REPUTATION FOR BEING A “NICE GUY” WITH A PLEASANT,
ALMOST JOLLY, PERSONALITY. HE ALSO HAS BEEN SUSPECTED OF
SKIMMING OFF ZIMOFA FUNDS FOR PERSONAL USE AND IS
BELIEVED TO BE CORRUPTIBLE. MAHLABA MAY HAVE BEEN
APPOINTED SIMPLY TO SHOW THAT KARANGAS ARE BEING ELEVATED
TO SENIOR GOVERNMENT POSITIONS BUT, AS A NON-CONSTITUENT
MP WITH NO PERSONAL POLITICAL BASE, HE IS ESSENTIALLY A
POLITICAL NONENTITY WHO MAY EVENTUALLY FADE AWAY. IN THE
MEANWHILE, ANOTHER KARANGA OFFICER WAS SHIFTED OUT OF
THE ARMY. (SEE REF D FOR FURTHER INFORMATION ON THE
MILITARY OFFICERS IN THE CABINET.)
¶66. (U) TICHAENDEPI MASAYA, DEPUTY MINISTER OF FINANCE,
ECONOMIC PLANNING AND DEVELOPMENT:
— MASAYA IS NEW TO THE CABINET, TAKING OVER THIS
POSITION FROM MOTON MALIANGA WHO IS NOW DEPUTY MINISTER
OF TRADE AND COMMERCE. MASAYA IS A STATISTICIAN BY
TRAINING AND HAS LECTURED IN ECONOMICS AT THE UNIVERSITY
OF ZIMBABWE SINCE 1981. HE IS ALSO A MEMBER OF THE
NATIONAL PARKS AND WILDLIFE BOARD AND IS THE CHAIRMAN OF
THE POSTS AND TELECOMMUNICATIONS CORPORATION (PTC), THE
COMMUNICATIONS PARASTATAL WHICH OPERATES UNDER THE
MINISTRY OF INFORMATION. MASAYA IS SAID TO BE ACTIVE IN
HARARE DISTRICT POLITICS, AND WAS ELECTED TO PARLIAMENT
IN 1985 TO REPRESENT THE NYANGA DISTRICT OF MANICALAND.
HE IS A MANYIKA.
¶67. (U) SWITHUN MOMBESHORA, DEPUTY MINISTER FOR HEALTH:
— MOMBESHORA SERVED AS THE DEPUTY MINISTER OF LANDS
AND AGRICULTURE IN THE PREVIOUS GOVERNMENT. HE HAS
TAKEN OVER AS DEPUTY MINISTER OF HEALTH FROM EDWARD
PSWARAYI WHO IS NO LONGER IN GOVERNMENT. MOMBESHORA WAS
REPORTEDLY ACTIVE IN ZANU YOUTH POLITICS AND LATER
ASSISTED ZANLA BY ORGANIZING FINANCES AND SUPPLIES
INSIDE THE COUNTRY DURING THE NATIONALIST STRUGGLE. HE
IS A PHYSICIAN BY TRAINING AND WAS ACTIVE IN THE 1980
ELECTION CAMPAIGN. MOMBESHORA TRAVELED TO THE US IN
1983 ON A USIA IV GRANT. HE WAS BORN IN 1945 AND IS
MARRIED WITH TWO DAUGHTERS AND ONE SON. MOMBESHORA IS A
ZEZURU.
¶68. (U) LOT SENDA MOYO, DEPUTY MINISTER OF LOCAL
GOVERNMENT, RURAL AND URBAN DEVELOPMENT:
— MOYO IS NEW TO THE GOVERNMENT AND REPLACES GEORGE
CHINENGUNDU (WHO IS NOW THE DEPUTY MINISTER OF JUSTICE)
IN THIS POSITION. MOYO IS ONE OF TWO ZAPU MEMBERS OF
PARLIAMENT AND NDEBELES WHO HAVE BEEN BROUGHT INTO THE
GOVERNMENT AS A DEPUTY MINISTER. AS IS THE CASE WITH
MANY ZAPU POLITICIANS, MOYO HAS DEVOTED HIMSELF ALMOST
EXCLUSIVELY TO PARTY BUSINESS AND IS CONSIDERED TO BE
ONE OF THE ZAPU “OLD GUARD”.
¶69. (U) CHARLES NDLOVU, DEPUTY MINISTER OF YOUTH, SPORT
AND CULTURE:
— NDLOVU IS NEW TO THE CABINET AND TAKES OVER THIS
POSITION FROM AMOS MIDZI WHO IS NO LONGER IN
GOVERNMENT. NDLOVU, A ZEZURU, WAS ONCE A DISC JOCKEY
WITH THE RHODESIAN BROADCASTING CORP. HE LEFT FOR
MAPUTO IN THE MIND-1970’S WHERE HE BECAME A BROADCASTER
ON “THE VOICE OF FREE ZIMBABWE”. IN THE EARLY 1980’S,
HE WAS NAMED HEAD OF PRODUCTION SERVICES IN THE MINISTRY
OF INFORMATION, AND IN 1985 HE BECAME HEAD OF THE
PARASTATAL CENTRAL FILM LABORATORIES. HE IS ALSO THE
HEAD OF THE ZANU YOUTH WING. IN 1985 HE WAS ELECTED AS
A ZANU MEMBER OF PARLIAMENT.
¶70. (C) NDLOVU IS CONSIDERED A PARTY HACK WITH FAIRLY
CLOSE TIES TO MUGABE. AS HEAD OF THE YOUTH WING OF THE
PARTY, HE HAS HAD VERY CLOSE CONTACT WITH EAST BLOC
NATIONS, NORTH KOREA AND CHINA, ALL OF WHOM HAVE
SUPPORTED THE YOUTH WING. HOWEVER, HE IS ALSO VERY
ACCESSIBLE TO US AND AN OCCASIONALLY USEFUL CONTACT WITH
THE PARTY’S IDEOLOGICAL WING. HE WAS MOVED FROM THE
MINISTRY OF INFORMATION TO CENTRAL FILM LABS IN 1985
AFTER A SCANDAL IN WHICH AN ALLEGED ZDOLS 50,000 WAS
EMBEZZLED FROM THE DEPARTMENT OF PRODUCTION SERVICES
THROUGH A FALSE PAYROLL SCHEME. THE DEPARTMENT’S
ACCOUNTANT COMMITTED SUICIDE, BUT NDLOVU–WHO IS WIDELY
THOUGHT TO HAVE BEEN DIRECTLY INVOLVED–WAS SAVED,
PROBABLY THROUGH HIS TIES WITH MUGABE. THOUGH MARRIED,
NDLOVU IS WELL KNOWN AS A WOMANIZER AND HEAVY DRINKER.
HE IS A REGISTERED MEMBER OF THE NORTON COUNTRY CLUB
(HE HAS A FARM IN THE AREA) UNDER HIS PRE-REVOLUTIONARY
NAME OF WEBSTER SHAMU.
¶71. (U) EDWARD NDLOVU, DEPUTY MINISTER FOR ENERGY, WATER
RESOURCES AND DEVELOPMENT:
— NDLOVU IS NEW TO THE GOVERNMENT AND IS OCCUPYING A
NEWLY-CREATED POSITION. HE IS CONSIDERED ANOTHER OF THE
ZAPU “OLD GUARD” AND IS A ZAPU MEMBER OF PARLIAMENT FROM
GWANDA. NDLOVU IS THE SECOND OF TWO ZAPU MPS AND
NDEBELES WHO HAVE BEEN BROUGHT INTO THE GOVERNMENT AS
DEPUTY MINISTERS IN THE WAKE OF THE ZANU/ZAPU UNITY
AGREEMENT. PRIOR TO ENTERING GOVERNMENT HE HAS MOSTLY
DEVOTED HIMSELF TO ZAPU POLITICS.
¶72. (C) NDLOVU IS AN OLD FRIEND OF THE US AND A REGULAR
CONTACT OF THE EMBASSY. HE IS A THOUGHTFUL POLITICAL
OBSERVER AND A HARDCORE PRAGMATIST.
¶73. (U) HENRY POTE, DEPUTY MINISTER OF INDUSTRY AND
TECHNOLOGY:
— POTE IS NEW TO THE GOVERNMENT AND IS OCCUPYING A
NEWLY-CREATED POSITION. HE IS A ZANU MEMBER OF
PARLIAMENT FROM CHIREDZI. POTE IS NOT WELL KNOWN
NATIONALLY OR IN HARARE, AND IT IS BELIEVED THAT HE WAS
SELECTED FOR A POSITION IN THE GOVERNMENT TO BE A
REPRESENTATIVE OF THE NDAU-SPEAKING POPULATION OF THE
LOW VELDT IN MASVINGO PROVINCE. POTE IS A KARANGA,
HOWEVER, AND THERE IS SOME THOUGHT THAT HE IS ACTUALLY
OF VENDA DESCENT. THE VENDA IS A SMALL TRIBE IN THE LOW
VELDT THAT IS NOT OF SHONA ORIGIN BUT WAS ESSENTIALLY
INCORPORATED INTO THE KARANGA.
MINISTERS OF STATE FOR POLITICAL AFFAIRS (PARTY
APPOINTEES)
——————————————— ————
¶74. (U) THE MINISTERS OF STATES FOR POLITICAL AFFAIRS
ARE NEWLY CREATED FORMED TO ACCOMMODATE FOUR FORMER
MINISTERS AND ONE FORMER DEPUTY MINISTER WHO ARE NO
LONGER IN GOVERNMENT. THESE MINISTERS OF STATE FOR
POLITICAL AFFAIRS ARE OFFICIALLY DESIGNATED AS “PARTY
APPOINTEES”; THEY REPORT TO MAURICE NYAGUMBO, THE SENIOR
MINISTER FOR POLITICAL AFFAIRS IN THE PRESIDENT’S
OFFICE. THOUGH THEY ARE CONSIDERED PARTY APPOINTEES,
THE SALARIES OF THESE MINISTERS OF STATE FOR POLITICAL
AFFAIRS ARE PAID FOR BY THE GOVERNMENT. THESE MINISTERS
OF STATE WILL BE SUPPORTED BY THREE DEPUTY MINISTERS OF
STATE FOR POLITICAL AFFAIRS.
¶75. (U) ERNEST KADUNGURE: PREVIOUSLY SERVED IN THE
CABINET AS THE MINISTER OF STATE FOR DEFENSE SINCE
JANUARY 1984. PRIOR TO THAT HE WAS APPOINTED MINISTER
OF YOUTH, SPORT AND CULTURE IN 1981. IMMEDIATELY AFTER
INDEPENDENCE, KADUNGURE SERVED AS THE MINISTER OF
TRANSPORT AND POWER. KANDUNGURE JOINED ZAPU IN 1962 BUT
IN 1964 MOVED TO ZAMBIA TO WORK. HE JOINED THE ARMED
STRUGGLE IN 1968 AND SERVED IN ZANLA. HE BECAME A
MEMBER OF THE CENTRAL COMMITTEE IN 1977 AND BECAME THE
PARTY SECRETARY FOR EDUCATION AND CULTURE. HE LATER WAS
APPOINTED AS THE PARTY’S FINANCE SECRETARY. KADUNGURE
IS CURRENTLY A ZANU MEMBER OF PARLIAMENT, THE PARTY
SECRETARY FOR YOUTH AND A MEMBER OF THE POLITBURO. AS A
MINISTER OF STATE FOR POLITICAL AFFAIRS, KANDUNGURE WILL
BE RESPONSIBLE FOR PLANNING THE GOVERNMENT’S NATIONAL
SERVICE WITH PARTICULAR ATTENTION TO ALLEVIATING THE
GROWING UNEMPLOYMENT PROBLEM CAUSED BY THE LARGE NUMBER
OF “SCHOOL LEAVERS”. THIS NATIONAL SERVICE SCHEME IS
SUPPOSED TO CONCENTRATE ON MILITARY SERVICE AND
AGRICULTURAL TRAINING. KANDUNGURE WAS BORN IN 1942, IS
MARRIED AND HAS ONE CHILD. HE IS A ZEZURU.
¶76. (C) A SOURCE TELLS US THAT MUGABE PROBABLY RELIEVED
KANDUNGURE FROM HIS PREVIOUS POSITION AS THE MINISTER
OF STATE FOR DEFENSE BECAUSE OF POOR PERFORMANCE.
¶77. (U) NAOMI NHIWATIWA: PREVIOUSLY SERVED AS THE
DEPUTY MINISTER OF INFORMATION, POSTS AND
TELECOMMUNICATIONS SINCE APRIL 1982. PRIOR TO THAT SHE
SERVED AS THE DEPUTY MINISTER OF ROADS AND ROAD
TRANSPORTATION, AND THE DEPUTY MINISTER OF COMMUNITY
DEVELOPMENT AND WOMEN’S AFFAIRS. AFTER COMPLETING HER
SECONDARY EDUCATION IN RHODESIA, NHIWATIWA WENT TO
COLLEGE IN THE UNITED STATES. SHE RECEIVED A DEGREE IN
NUTRITION FROM LINCOLN UNIVERSITY, NEBRASKA (SIC), AND A
MASTER’S DEGREE IN PSYCHOLOGY AT WAYNE STATE (DETROIT).
SHE LATER RECEIVED A PH.D. IN COMMUNICATIONS FROM NYU.
NHIWATIWA RETURNED TO ZIMBABWE FOLLOWING THE LANCASTER
HOUSE AGREEMENT AND WAS ELECTED AS A ZANU MEMBER OF
PARLIAMENT. NHIWATIWA TRAVELED TO THE US IN 1982 ON A
USIA IV GRANT. SHE IS A MANYIKA. NHIWATIWA WAS BORN IN
1942 AND IS UNMARRIED.
¶78. (C) NHIWATIWA HAD THE REPUTATION FOR BEING SOMETHING
OF A “PLAYGIRL” WHICH, ALONG WITH ALLEGATIONS OF POOR
PERFORMANCE AS A DEPUTY MINISTER, IS SAID TO HAVE BEEN
THE MAIN REASON FOR HER DEMOTION.
¶79. (U) FREDERICK SHAVA: IS THE FORMER MINSTER OF
LABOUR, MANPOWER PLANNING AND SOCIAL WELFARE, A POSITION
HE HAS HELD SINCE JANUARY 1981. DURING THE NATIONALIST
STRUGGLE, SHAVA WAS STUDYING AT UNIVERSITY IN LONDON.
HE WAS ZANU CHAIRMAN IN THE UK AND WAS LATER NAMED IN
1977 AS CHIEF ZANU REPRESENTATIVE IN EUROPE. HE
PARTICIPATED IN THE LANCASTER HOUSE CONFERENCE, RETURNED
TO ZIMBABWE IN JANUARY 1980 AND WAS ELECTED TO
PARLIAMENT. THOUGH SHAVA IS A KARANGA, HE IS IDENTIFIED
WITH THE ZEZURU CLIQUE. HE IS MARRIED AND HAS THREE
CHILDREN. SHAVA IS 40 YEARS OLD.
¶80. (U) HERBERT USHEWOKUNZE: WAS THE MINISTER OF
TRANSPORTATION IN THE PREVIOUS GOVERNMENT, A POSITION HE
HELD SINCE JANUARY 1984. A MEDICAL DOCTOR BY
PROFESSION, USHEWOKUNZE SERVED AS ZIMBABWE’S FIRST
MINISTER OF HEALTH UNTIL 1981. HE THEN SERVED AS THE
MINISTER OF HOME AFFAIRS UNTIL LATE 1982. USHEWOKUNZE
STUDIED MEDICINE IN SOUTH AFRICA AND WAS THE FIRST
AFRICAN TO OPEN A MEDICAL PRACTICE IN MATABELELAND. HE
JOINED THE YOUTH WING OF ZANU IN 1963 AND HELPED
ORGANIZE THE UNDERGROUND CELLS. IN 1976 HE JOINED UP
WITH THE ZANU LEADERSHIP IN MOZAMBIQUE, BECAME A MEMBER
OF THE CENTRAL COMMITTEE, AND WAS NAMED THE PARTY
SECRETARY FOR HEALTH. USHEWOKUNZE IS MARRIED AND HAS
TEN CHILDREN. HE WAS BORN IN 1938 AND IS A ZEZURU.
¶81. (C) USHEWOKUNZE IS POPULAR AMONG THE ZEZURU AND ONE
OF THE FEW MEMBERS OF THE PREVIOUS GOVERNMENT WITH HIS
OWN POWER BASE. HE ALSO HAS A REPUTATION FOR BEING VERY
INEFFICIENT AND VERY CORRUPT.
¶82. (U) EDDISON ZVOBGO: WAS THE MINISTER OF JUSTICE,
LEGAL AND PARLIAMENTARY AFFAIRS IN THE PREVIOUS
GOVERNMENT. IN THAT POSITION, WHICH HE HELD SINCE 1982,
ZVOBGO WAS IN CHARGE OF PREPARING THE CONSTITUTIONAL
CHANGES WHICH LED TO THE ABOLITION OF RACIAL
REPRESENTATION IN THE PARLIAMENT AND THE CREATION OF THE
EXECUTIVE PRESIDENCY. IN HIS NEW POSITION AS A MINISTER
OF STATE FOR PARLIAMENTARY AFFAIRS, ZVOBGO IS
RESPONSIBLE FOR PLANNING THE REORGANIZATION OF ZANU TO
ACCOMMODATE THE RECENTLY INCORPORATED ZAPU. IN JUNE
1960 ZVOBGO WAS APPOINTED CHIEF REPRESENTATIVE OF THE
NATIONAL DEMOCRATIC PARTY (NDP – THE NATIONALIST
SUCCESSOR TO THE BANNED ANC) AT THE UN. HE ATTENDED
TUFTS UNIVERSITY. ZVOBGO RETURNED TO RHODESIA IN 1963
AND WAS A FOUNDER OF ZANU. HE SERVED AS THE DEPUTY
SECRETARY GENERAL OF ZANU UNTIL 1977. ZVOBGO WAS
DETAINED, DURING WHICH TIME HE STUDIED LAW AND WAS
ADMITTED TO THE BAR. HE RETURNED TO THE US IN 1972 TO
CONTINUE HIS STUDIES AT THE FLETCHER SCHOOL (TUFTS) AND
HARVARD LAW. HE LATER TAUGHT AS AN ASSOCIATE PROFESSOR
AT THE LEWIS UNIVERSITY COLLEGE OF LAW IN ILLINOIS.
ZVOBGO WAS A LEGAL ADVISOR FOR ZANU AT THE GENEVA
CONFERENCE AND WAS A MEMBER OF THE ZANU DELEGATION AT
THE LANCASTER HOUSE CONFERENCE. HE RETURNED TO ZIMBABWE
IN 1980 AND WAS THE ZANU ELECTION CHAIRMAN. ZVOBGO
TRAVELED TO THE US IN 1987 ON A USIA IV GRANT. HE IS
MARRIED TO ANOTHER MEMBER OF PARLIAMENT, JULIA ZVOBGO,
AND HAS FOUR CHILDREN. ZVOBGO WAS BORN IN 1935 AND IS A
KARANGA.
¶83. (C) ZVOBGO WAS ALSO ONE OF THE FEW MEMBERS OF THE
PREVIOUS GOVERNMENT WITH A POPULAR BASE OF SUPPORT
(IN HIS CASE IN MASVINGO PROVINCE). HE WAS FORMERLY
ZANU PARTY CHAIRMAN OF MASVINGO AND A MEMBER OF THE
POLITBURO BUT WAS RELIEVED OF THESE POSTS IN 1986
AS A RESULT OF A POWER STRUGGLE WITH FELLOW KARANGA
AND THEN DEPUTY PRIME MINISTER MUZENDA. HE HAS A
SERIOUS DRINKING PROBLEM WHICH MAY HAVE CONTRIBUTED
TO HIS DEMOTION.
DEPUTY MINISTERS OF STATE
————————-
¶84. (U) GENERAL JEVAN MASEKO: IS THE FORMER ARMY CHIEF
OF STAFF FOR ADMINISTRATION AND QUARTERMASTER. AS A
DEPUTY MINISTER OF STATE, MASEKO’S MILITARY EXPERIENCE
SHOULD BE ESPECIALLY USEFUL AS HE WILL BE WORKING UNDER
MINISTER OF STATE KANDUNGURE IN THE PREPARATION OF A
NATIONAL SERVICE PLAN. HE LEFT THIS POSITION AND
RESIGNED HIS COMMISSION TO BECOME A NON-CONSTITUTENT
MEMBER OF PARLIAMENT IN NOVEMBER 1987. MASEKO IS A
FORMER ZIPRA COMBATANT WHO ENTERED THE NEW ZIMBABWE
NATIONAL ARMY AT INDEPENDENCE. HE IS AN NDEBELE.
¶85. (C) MASEKO IS SAID TO BE A PLEASANT FELLOW BUT IS
CONSIDERED TO BE A MEDIOCRE OFFICER. THOUGH HE HAS BEEN
TO SOME EXTENT COOPTED BY THE SHONA HIERARCHY, HE IS
SAID TO STILL BE POPULAR AMONG THE NDEBELE AND MAINTAIN
SOME UNOFFICIAL CONTACTS WITH ZAPU. AS A NON-CONSTITUENT
MP HE LACKS A CLEARLY DEFINED POLITICAL BASE SO HIS
FUTURE WILL DEPEND ON THE CONTINUED GOOD FAVOR OF MUGABE.
BY ENTERING THE PARLIAMENT MASEKO HAD TO RESIGN HIS
COMMISSION, SO THE SENIOR NDEBELE OFFICER HAS LEFT THE
ARMY. (SEE REF D FOR FURTHER INFORMATION ON THE MILITARY
OFFICERS IN THE CABINET.)
¶86. (U) SHUVAI MAHOFA: IS ONE OF TWO WOMEN WHO NOW
SERVE AS DEPUTY MINISTERS OF STATE. MAHOFA IS A MEMBER
OF PARLIAMENT FROM MASVINGO PROVINCE. DURING THE
INDEPENDENCE STRUGGLE MAHOFA SERVED IN AN UNDERGROUND
DETATCHMENT WHICH PROVIDED LOGISTICAL SUPPORT TO THE
NATIONALIST GUERILLAS. SINCE INDEPENDENCE SHE HAS BEEN
ACTIVE IN WOMEN’S AFFAIRS AND WAS ELECTED SECRETARY FOR
WELFARE AND TRANSPORTATION IN THE ZANU WOMEN’S LEAGUE.
SHE FREQUENTLY TRAVELS WITH THE DELEGATIONS LED BY THE
PRESIDENT’S WIFE. MAHOFA IS A KARANGA.
¶87. (U) OPAH MUCHINGURI: HAS ONLY RECENTLY COME TO
PUBLIC PROMINENCE. IN NOVEMBER 1987 SHE WAS ELECTED TO
A NON-CONSTITUENT PARLIAMENTARY SEAT, AND IN JANUARY
1988 SHE RECEIVED HER FIRST APPOINTMENT TO THE
GOVERNMENT AS A DEPUTY MINISTER FOR POLITICAL AFFAIRS.
BEFORE HER ELECTION TO PARLIAMENT SHE WORKED AS A
PRIVATE SECRETARY TO PRIME MINISTER MUGABE. MUCHINGURI
JOINED THE LIBERATION STRUGGLE WHEN SHE LEFT HIGH SCHOOL
IN 1975. SHE RECEIVED TRAINING IN SECRETARIAL SKILLS
AND ACCOUNTING AND SERVED AS THE SECRETARY FOR THE ZANLA
HIGH COMMAND. AFTER INDEPENDECE SHE WORKED BRIEFLY IN
THE PRIME MINISTER’S OFFICE BEFORE LEAVING IN 1981 FOR
STUDIES IN THE UNITED STATES. SHE GRADUATED FROM
MINNESOTA STATE IN 1983 WITH A DEGREE IN PUBLIC
ADMINISTRATION AND SUBSEQUENTLY EARNED A MASTER’S DEGREE
IN PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION AT USC. SHE RETURNED TO
ZIMBABWE IN JANUARY 1986 AND TOOK UP A POSITION IN THE
PRIME MINISTER’S OFFICE. MUCHINGURI IS SAID TO BE VERY
CLOSE TO MUGABE. SHE IS A MANYIKA.
¶88. (C) MUCHINGURI ESSENTIALLY DROPPED OUT OF SIGHT
FOR THE FOUR YEARS THAT SHE WAS A STUDENT IN THE US.
THERE HAS BEEN SPECULATION THAT SHE DELIBERATELY LEFT
THE COUNTRY BECAUSE SHE WAS A SURVIVOR OF THE AUTOMOBILE
ACCIDENT WHICH KILLED ZANLA COMMANDER JOSIAH TONGONGARA
IN 1980. WHILE THE OFFICIAL INQUIRY RULED THAT
TONGONGARA’S DEATH WAS AN ACCIDENT, DOUBTS CONTINUED
AND SOME FELT THAT MUCHINGURI KNEW MORE THAN HAD BEEN
TOLD TO THE PUBLIC. MUCHINGURI KEPT A LOW PROFILE FOR
THE FIRST YEAR AND A HALF AFTER HER RETURN TO ZIMBABWE
IN 1986. AS HAS BEEN THE CASE WITH FAY CHUNG,
MUCHINGURI’S STAR HAS BEEN ON THE RISE SINCE HER
ELECTION TO PARLIAMENT IN NOVEMBER 1987. WE BELIEVE
THAT MUCHINGURI’S RISE IS DUE TO HER REPORTEDLY CLOSE
PERSONAL RELATIONSHIP WITH MUGABE. WE SUSPECT THAT SHE
HAS BEEN APPOINTED AS A DEPUTY TO THE MINISTERS OF STATE
FOR POLITICAL AFFAIRS SO THAT SHE CAN SPY ON THIS
COLLECTION OF ERSTWHILE PARTY LEADERS AND POTENTIAL
RIVALS TO MUGABE.
RAWLINGS
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