War veterans attacked former general’s son

George Walls, the son of Peter Walls, former commander of the Rhodesian army under Ian Smith, told a United States embassy official that he had been attacked by suspected war veterans who wanted to know the whereabouts of his father.

He said four men had pulled gun on him and then assaulted him when he told them that he did not know where his father was since he had not been to Zimbabwe over the past 21 years.

There had been reports that Peter Walls had been seen in Victoria Falls, but George Walls said this was false. Authorities had mistaken a Briton named Peter Wells for his father.The younger Walls said he had never told the Daily News, which reported on his attack, that the men who assaulted him were Central Intelligence Organisation officials because he didn’t know what a CIO agent looked like.

Full cable:

Viewing cable 01HARARE881, SUSPECTED ZIMBABWE WAR VETERANS ATTACK FORMER

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011510Z Mar 01

                           UNCLASSIFIED     PTO4413

PAGE 01       HARARE 00881 011512Z 

ACTION AF-00   

INFO LOG-00   NP-00   AID-00   AMAD-00 ACQ-00   CIAE-00 USNW-00 

     DINT-00 DODE-00 DOTE-00 SRPP-00 DS-00   EB-00   EUR-00   

     FAAE-00 FBIE-00 UTED-00 VC-00   H-01     TEDE-00 INR-00   

     IO-00   LAB-01   L-00     VCE-00   AC-01   NSAE-00 OIC-02   

     OMB-01   OPIC-01 PA-00   PM-00   PRS-00   ACE-00   P-00     

     SCT-00   SP-00   IRM-00   STR-00   TEST-00 TRSE-00 USIE-00 

     PMB-00   DSCC-00 PRM-01   DRL-02   G-00     NFAT-00 SAS-00   

      /010W

                 ------------------CC2219 011512Z /38   

FM AMEMBASSY HARARE

TO SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 8323

INFO NSC WASHDC PRIORITY

SOUTHERN AFRICAN DEVELOPMENT COMMUNITY

AMEMBASSY NAIROBI

UNCLAS HARARE 000881 

SIPDIS 

NSC FOR SENIOR AFRICA DIRECTOR JENDAYI FRAZER 

LONDON FOR CHARLES GURNEY 

PARIS FOR BISA WILLIAMS 

NAIROBI FOR TERRY PFLAUMER 

E.O. 12958: N/A 

                       UNCLASSIFIED 

PAGE 02       HARARE 00881 011512Z 

TAGS: PHUM PGOV PINS PINR ZI

SUBJECT: SUSPECTED ZIMBABWE WAR VETERANS ATTACK FORMER 

GENERAL'S SON 

SENSITVE BY UNCLASSIFIED, PROTECT ACCORDINGLY. NOT FOR 

INTERNET POSTING. 

¶1. (SBU) ON MARCH 1, GEORGE WALLS CALLED ON POLOFF TO 

RELAY THE EVENTS SURROUNDING THE ATTACK ON HIM BY 

SUSPECTED WAR VETERANS THE NIGHT OF FEBRUARY 23. WALLS 

IS THE SON OF PETER WALLS, FORMER COMMANDER OF THE 

RHODESIAN ARMY UNDER THE IAN SMITH REGIME. THE FEBRUARY 

26 EDITION OF "THE DAILY NEWS" REPORTED THE ATTACK ON 

THE YOUNGER WALLS IN A HEADLINE STORY. 

¶2. (SBU) WALLS TOLD POLOFF THAT "THE DAILY NEWS" STORY 

WAS GENERALLY ACCURATE. AROUND 10:15 PM ON FEBRUARY 23, 

WHILE WALLS WAS DRIVING TO HIS SUBURBAN HARARE HOME, 

FOUR MEN IN ANOTHER VEHICLE PULLED A GUN ON HIM AND 

FORCED HIM TO STOP. THREE OF THE MEN, SHABBILY DRESSED, 

ACCORDING TO WALLS, GOT OUT AND DEMANDED TO KNOW THE 

LOCATION OF HIS FATHER. (NOTE: IT WAS REPORTED IN 

DECEMBER 2000 THAT WALLS' FATHER HAD BEEN SEEN IN 

ZIMBABWE AT VICTORIA FALLS. THE JUNIOR WALLS SAID IT 

WAS COMPLETELY FALSE, AS HIS FATHER HAD NOT BEEN TO 

ZIMBABWE IN 21 YEARS, AND THAT THE AUTHORITIES HAD 

MISTAKEN A BRITISH NATIONAL NAMED PETER WELLS FOR HIS 

FATHER. END NOTE.) WALLS STATED THAT THE MEN CLAIMED 

TO BE "LIBERATION FIGHTERS." HE NEVER CLAIMED THEY WERE 

CIO OPERATIVES, AS REPORTED IN "THE DAILY NEWS." WALLS 

SAID HE WOULD NOT KNOW WHAT A CIO AGENT LOOKED LIKE. 

                       UNCLASSIFIED 

PAGE 03       HARARE 00881 011512Z 

¶3. (SBU) WHEN HE DENIED THAT HIS FATHER WAS IN THE 

COUNTRY, THE THREE MEN PROCEEDED TO BEAT WALLS. ONE 

STRUCK HIM IN THE FACE WITH AN ELECTRICAL CORD, WHICH 

PRODUCED A DEEP GASH FROM HIS FOREHEAD TO BELOW HIS 

RIGHT EYE, AND PUNCHED HIM IN THE FACE. ANOTHER STABBED 

HIM IN HIS RIGHT THIGH, HE STATED. (COMMENT: WALLS 

CLEARLY HAD BEEN SERIOUSLY INJURED. HIS FACE WAS 

COVERED WITH BANDAGES AND HE WALKED WITH A NOTICEABLE 

LIMP. END COMMENT.) THE ATTACKERS WARNED WALLS THAT IF 

HE REPORTED THE INCIDENT TO THE POLICE, THEY WOULD 

RETURN AND KILL HIM. A PASSER-BY TOOK WALLS TO THE 

HOSPITAL, WHERE HE WAS ADMITTED AND TREATED FOR THREE 

DAYS. THE GASH TO HIS FACE REQUIRED PLASTIC SURGERY, 

WALLS SAID. HIS SISTER WENT TO THE POLICE AND MADE A 

STATEMENT. THEY WERE SYMPATHETIC, WALLS REPORTED, BUT 

HE DID NOT KNOW IF THEY WERE GOING TO INVESTIGATE THE 

INCIDENT. WALLS SAID HE RECEIVED A THREATENING PHONE 

CALL THE NIGHT OF FEBRUARY 28. 

¶4. (SBU) POLOFF ASKED WALLS WHAT HE THOUGHT MIGHT HAVE 

LED TO THE INCIDENT. HE STATED HE DID NOT REALLY KNOW. 

HIS FATHER IS ACTUALLY LIVING IN SOUTH AFRICA, AND HE 

BELIEVES THE ZIMBABWEAN AUTHORITIES KNOW THIS. IN FACT, 

THE CIO HAD SENT HIS FATHER A LETTER THERE 10 YEARS AGO 

STATING THAT THEY HAD RECOMMENDED TO PRESIDENT MUGABE 

THAT WALLS BE ALLOWED TO RETURN TO ZIMBABWE. THE 

PRESIDENT NEVER FORMALLY GAVE PERMISSION, SO THE OLDER 

WALLS STAYED IN SOUTH AFRICA, THE SON REPORTED. HE ALSO 

SAID THAT IN APRIL 2000, THREE WELL-DRESSED CIO AGENTS 

HAD PAID HIM A VISIT AND POLITELY WARNED HIM AGAINST 

                       UNCLASSIFIED 

PAGE 04       HARARE 00881 011512Z 

PURSUING POLITICAL ACTIVITIES. SINCE THEN, WALLS HAD 

NOT BEEN THREATENED IN ANY WAY UNTIL NOW. HE SPECULATED 

THAT UNION WORKERS AT HIS PLANT MAY HAVE HAD SOMETHING 

TO DO WITH IT, BECAUSE ONE OF THEM WARNED HIM A WEEK 

BEFORE THAT WAR VETERANS WOULD BE COMING AFTER HIM. 

WALLS SAID THAT WORKERS AT HIS PLANT SOMETIMES GET 

MILITANT WHEN CONTRACT NEGOTIATIONS COME UP, BUT THAT 

THEY ARE NOT SCHEDULED UNTIL JULY, AND BESIDES, HE IS 

ONLY A MIDDLE MANAGER AND WOULD BE THE WRONG PERSON TO 

THREATEN. WALLS TOLD POLOFF THAT HE BELIEVED THE ATTACK 

HAD BEEN WELL-PLANNED AND ROBBERY WAS DEFINITELY NOT A 

MOTIVE. 

¶5. (SBU) COMMENT: THE ASSAULT ON WALLS IS UNUSUAL 

BECAUSE IT OCCURRED IN A LOW-DENSITY SUBURB OF HARARE 

AGAINST A WHITE PERSON OF SYMBOLIC VALUE, BASED ON WHO 

HIS FATHER WAS. THAT HE IS APOLITICAL MADE NO 

DIFFERENCE TO HIS ATTACKERS. GIVEN INCREASED WAR 

VETERAN ACTIVITY AND A CRACKDOWN ON GOVERNMENT OPPONENTS 

IN URBAN AREAS, WE SUSPECT THAT THE ATTACK ON WALLS WAS 

CARRIED OUT TO INTIMIDATE AND STRIKE FEAR INTO URBAN 

WHITES, A KEY SOURCE OF SUPPORT FOR THE OPPOSITION 

MOVEMENT FOR DEMOCRATIC CHANGE (MDC). END COMMENT. 

IRVING 

                       UNCLASSIFIED 

> 

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