The Insider

Britain instructed its foreign office two years ago to push the Kimberley Process to investigate Zimbabwe’s eligibility to the diamond controlling body and to approach leading non-governmental organisations Global Witness and Partnership Africa Canada to do research and report on Zimbabwe’s trafficking in conflict diamonds because the KP was too slow, a diplomatic cable released by Wikileaks says.

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Women’s Affairs Minister Oppah Muchinguri was named as one of the beneficiaries from the Chiadzwa Diamond in Marange.

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The entry of Simba Makoni into the 2008 presidential race was going to strengthen the opposition by tapping into disaffected ZANU-PF supporters and was going to make rigging for President Robert Mugabe more difficult, United States ambassador to Zimbabwe James McGee said.

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South Africa’s assistant director in the Department of Foreign Affairs Eden Reid said Mavambo leader Simba Makoni’s presidential bid was premature.

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Political analyst Sydney Masamvu was one of 15 members of theInstitute for Democracy in South Africa staff that were to be sent to Zimbabwe to observe the 2008 elections.

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Oppah Muchinguri is one of the most powerful women in the Zimbabwe African National Union-Patriotic Front. She was an aide to ZANLA commander Josiah Tongogara and survived the accident that killed him. Some people believe that Muchinguri is being rewarded for keeping quiet about how Tongogara really died just days before he was supposed to return to Zimbabwe with the rest of the ZANU-PF leaders and military. But even then she still remains a political power player within the party and the presidential succession battle. There are just over 20 Wikileaks cables on her. Here is the first batch.

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Women’s Affairs Minister Oppah Muchinguri was one of the Zimbabwe African National Union-Patriotic Front bigwigs that lost the 2008 elections literally marking the end of her political career.

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Publisher Trevor Ncube supported the presidential candidacy of Mavambo leader Simba Makoni in the 2008 elections and even received a telephone call from Makoni during a meeting with United States embassy officials in Pretoria.

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Econet boss Strive Masiyiwa told United States embassy officials in Pretoria that former army commander Solomon Mujuru was essentially a “mafia boss” and President Robert Mugabe could simply threaten to arrest him if he got out of line.

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Zimbabwe African National Union-Patriotic Front central committee member Manatsa Mutasa told United States ambassador James McGee that he was so disgusted by corruption in the Zimbabwe African National Union-Patriotic Front that he was not campaigning for the party in the 2008 elections.

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