Tsvangirai charged with treason

Movement for Democratic Change leader Morgan Tsvangirai was formally charged with treason on 20 March 2002, just a week after losing the presidential elections.

He was accused of planning to assassinate President Robert Mugabe but party secretary Welshman Ncube, who was also facing similar charges, said this was just an attempt to continue harassing the MDC leadership to stop them from resisting an illegitimate election process.

MDC Shadow Minister for Agriculture Renson Gasela was also charged with the same offence.

Full cable:

Viewing cable 02HARARE748, MDC LEADER TSVANGIRAI FORMALLY CHARGED WITH TREASON

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This record is a partial extract of the original cable. The full text of the original cable is not available.

211338Z Mar 02

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——————78AF0A 211859Z /45

FM AMEMBASSY HARARE

TO SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 1293

INFO NSC WASHDC PRIORITY

AMEMBASSY ABUJA PRIORITY

AMEMBASSY PRETORIA PRIORITY

USMISSION USUN NEW YORK PRIORITY

SOUTHERN AFRICAN DEVELOPMENT COMMUNITY PRIORITY

AMEMBASSY NAIROBI

C O N F I D E N T I A L HARARE 000748

SIPDIS

NSC FOR SENIOR AFRICA DIRECTOR JENDAYI FRAZER

NAIROBI FOR PFLAUMER

LONDON FOR GURNEY

PARIS FOR NEARY

E.O. 12958: DECL: 03/14/12

TAGS: PGOV PREL ZI

SUBJECT: MDC LEADER TSVANGIRAI FORMALLY CHARGED WITH TREASON

REF: A) HARARE 731 B) HARARE 572 C) HARARE 501 D) HARARE 411

CLASSIFIED BY POLITICAL SECTION CHIEF MATT HARRINGTON. REASONS:

1.5 (B) AND (D).

¶1. (U) MDC LEADER MORGAN TSVANGIRAI WAS CHARGED WITH TREASON ON

MARCH 20 IN THE ALLEGED PLOT TO ASSASSINATE PRESIDENT MUGABE.

TSVANGIRAI PRESENTED HIMSELF AT THE HARARE CENTRAL POLICE STATION

SIPDIS

FOR FINGERPRINTING, THEN APPEARED AT THE HARARE MAGISTRATE’S

COURT, WHICH FORMALLY CHARGED HIM WITH THE CAPITAL CRIME.   HE

WAS RELEASED ON A BAIL OF Z$1.5 MILLION (APPROXIMATELY U.S.

$5,000), AND WAS ORDERED TO SURRENDER THE TITLE DEED TO HIS

HOUSE, WORTH Z$3 MILLION (APPROXIMATELY U.S. $10,000).

TSVANGIRAI WAS ALSO ORDERED TO RELINQUISH HIS PASSPORT AND TO

SIPDIS

REPORT TO THE POLICE ONCE A WEEK. THE PARTY’S SHADOW AGRICULTURE

MINISTER AND MP FOR GWERU RURAL, RENSON GASELA, WAS ALSO CHARGED

WITH TREASON BY THE SAME COURT. HE WAS RELEASED ON Z$ 500,000

BAIL (APPROXIMATELY U.S. $1500) AFTER BEING ORDERED TO COMPLY

WITH THE SAME CONDITIONS AS TSVANGIRAI.

¶2. (U) MDC SECRETARY-GENERAL WELSHMAN NCUBE — WHO WAS HIMSELF

RECENTLY CHARGED WITH TREASON IN THE SAME CASE — PUBLICLY

DESCRIBED THE FILING OF CHARGES AGAINST TSVANGIRAI AS “AN ATTEMPT

TO CONTINUE HARASSING THE MDC LEADERSHIP IN ORDER TO STOP US FROM

RESISTING AN ILLEGITIMATE ELECTION PROCESS.” TSVANGIRAI SPECIAL

ADVISOR GANDI MUDZINGWA TOLD US THAT TSVANGIRAI, GASELA, AND

NCUBE WILL APPEAR IN COURT ON APRIL 30 FOR AN INTERIM HEARING ON

COMPLIANCE WITH BAIL CONDITIONS, BUT THAT NO TRIAL DATE HAS BEEN

SET.

¶3. (C) MEANWHILE, MUDZINGWA TOLD US THAT THE SOUTH AFRICAN

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PAGE 03       HARARE 00748 211859Z

FACILITATOR FOR THE INTER-PARTY DIALOGUE HAD ARRIVED ON MARCH 20

AND THAT THE NIGERIAN FACILITATOR WAS EXPECTED TO ARRIVE IN THE

NEXT DAY OR TWO. THE MDC PLANNED TO SHARE WITH THEM THE LIST OF

NEGOTIATING PRINCIPLES DESCRIBED BY THEIR MP DAVID COLTART IN A

MARCH 19 CONVERSATION WITH THE AMBASSADOR (REF A).   SEVERAL

MEMBERS OF THE KEY LEADERSHIP THEN PLAN TO HOLD A ONE-DAY RETREAT

NEAR THE SOUTHWESTERN CITY OF BULAWAYO MARCH 22-23 TO DETERMINE

NEXT STEPS.

¶4. (C) COMMENT: THE FILING OF TREASON CHARGES AGAINST TSVANGIRAI

LESS THAN 24 HOURS AFTER ZIMBABWE’S SUSPENSION FROM THE COUNCILS

OF THE COMMONWEALTH DOES NOT AUGUR WELL FOR NEAR-TERM POLICY

CHANGES BY PRESIDENT MUGABE’S GOVERNMENT NOR FOR THE LIKELY

SUCCESS OF INTER-PARTY TALKS. WE KNOW THAT PRESIDENTS MBEKI AND

OBASANJO TRIED TO PERSUADE MUGABE TO DROP THE FLIMSY CHARGES

AGAINST TSVANGIRAI AND OTHER MDC LEADERS AS A CONFIDENCE-BUILDING

MEASURE, BUT THE ZIMBABWEAN LEADER RESISTED, APPARENTLY

EMPHASIZING THE NEED FOR THE CASE TO MAKE ITS WAY THROUGH THE

COURTS.

SULLIVAN

CONFIDENTIAL

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