The Insider

One of former army commander Solomon Mujuru’s principal backers David Butau told United States ambassador to Zimbabwe Christopher Dell that the Mujuru faction had decided to undermine President Robert Mugabe’s principal economic backers rather than target him directly.

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David Butau, Walter Mzembi and Charles Majange all made their names as young Zimbabwe African National Union-Patriotic Front legislators fighting for reform within the party and tackling their leaders to be more accountable.

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The Zimbabwe African National Union-Patriotic Front chair of the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Budget David Butau told United States embassy officials, soon after the party conference at Goromonzi, that the overwhelming majority of ZANU-PF members wanted party president Robert Mugabe out in 2008.

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Silvester Nguni was a rising star in business after he turned around the Common Marketing Board to one of the biggest public companies listed on the Zimbabwe Stock Exchange. That was until he entered politics. He is now parked as Minister of State in Vice-President Joice Mujuru’s Office, though he had promised that he could turn around the country’s agriculture in six months if he was appointed minister of that portfolio. There are nine cables on him. Here they are.

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A Movement for Democratic Change candidate for the Chipinge elections in 2008 said he had only been given $100 for his campaign and suggested that if there was any money at all for the campaign it was probably being used by party bigwigs in Harare.

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Movement for Democratic Change treasurer Roy Bennett predicted a shock victory for his party in the 2008 saying he had never seen such excitement on the ground since 2000 because people simply wanted Mugabe gone.

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South African President Thabo Mbeki was still frantically working on a political solution for Zimbabwe two months before the harmonised elections of 2008 and gave the negotiating parties three options.

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Movement for Democratic Change treasurer Roy Bennett told United States embassy officials that South African Communist Party leader Blade Nzimande had told MDC leader Morgan Tsvangirai that the United States government had funded South African President Thabo Mbeki’s African National Congress re-election campaign because Washington did not want Jacob Zuma to become South African president.

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