Was diplomat sidelined because of his brother?

Career diplomat Machivenyika Mapuranga may have been saved by then Foreign Minister Stan Mudenge who posted him as High Commissioner to Ghana because he apparently could not just ditch such a loyal and capable diplomat.

According to the United States embassy, Mapuranga had fallen out of favour because his brother Leonard had challenged Higher Education Minister Herbert Murerwa in Goromonzi as a Movement for Democratic Change candidate.

Murerwa won the seat.

The embassy came up with this possible explanation because it could not find any reasonable explanation as to why Mapuranga had been moved to the obscure post of “special projects” after such a high profile which had seen him serve on the African Union and at the United Nations.

Full cable:

Viewing cable 01HARARE1596, MAPURANGA TO BE ZIMBABWE’S HIGH COMMISSIONER TO

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

140901Z May 01

CONFIDENTIAL     PTO0937

PAGE 01        HARARE 01596 140854Z

ACTION AF-00

INFO LOG-00   NP-00   ACQ-00   CIAE-00 USNW-00 DINT-00 DODE-00

DOTE-00 SRPP-00 DS-00   EB-00   FAAE-00 FBIE-00 VC-00

H-01     TEDE-00 INR-00   IO-00   L-00     VCE-00   AC-01

NSAE-00 NSCE-00 OIG-03   OMB-01   PA-00   PM-00   PRS-00

ACE-00   P-00     SP-00   SS-00   TRSE-00 T-00     USIE-00

PMB-00   DSCC-00 DRL-02   G-00     NFAT-00 SAS-00   SWCI-00

/008W

——————EB274E 140854Z /38

FM AMEMBASSY HARARE

TO SECSTATE WASHDC 8863

INFO AMEMBASSY ACCRA

C O N F I D E N T I A L HARARE 001596

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 05/14/11

TAGS: PREL PINR ZI GH

SUBJECT: MAPURANGA TO BE ZIMBABWE’S HIGH COMMISSIONER TO

GHANA

CLASSIFIED BY CHARGE D’AFFAIRES EARL M. IRVING FOR

REASONS 1.5 (B) AND (D).

¶1. (U) ACCORDING TO,THE MAY 12 EDITION OF THE

GOVERNMENT-CONTROLLED “THE HERALD” NEWSPAPER, PRESIDENT

MUGABE HAS APPOINTED THE FORMER PERMANENT SECRETARY OF

FOREIGN AFFAIRS, DR. MACHIVENYIKA TOBIAS MAPURANQA, TO

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PAGE 02       HARARE 01596 140854Z

BE ZIMBABWE’S HIQH COMMISSIONER TO GHANA. THE ARTICLE

CONTINUED THAT MAPURANQA WOULD OPEN A NEW MISSION IN

ACCRA. BY WAY OF BIOQRAPHIC INFORMATION THE ARTICLE

SAYS THAT MAPURANQA IS A CAREER DIPLOMAT WHO SERVED AS

ASSISTANT SECRETARY GENERAL OF THE ORQANIZATION OF

AFRICAN UNITY (OAU) BETWEEN 1987 AND 1995 AND WAS

APPOINTED IN 1996 AS ZIMBABWE’S PERMANENT REPRESENTATIVE

TO THE UNITED NATIONS. HE ALSO SERVED AS A SPECIAL

REPRESENTATIVE OF THE OAU SECRETARY GENERAL TO RWANDA

FROM 1992 TO 1995 AND LED THE OAU DELEGATION THAT

BROKERED THE PEACE TALKS THAT RESULTED IN THE SIGNING OF

THE ARUSHA PEACE AGREEMENT ON RWANDA. MAPURANGA,

ACCORDING TO PRESS REPORTS, SERVED AS ZIMBABWE’S HIGH

COMMISSIONER TO TANZANIA AND ZAMBIA AND AS DEPUTY

PERMANENT SECRETARY FOR POLITICAL AND ECONOMIC AFFAIRS

IN THE MINISTRY OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS.

¶2. (C) COMMENT: MAPURANGA IS A SMOOTH DIPLOMAT WHOSE

PROMISING CAREER WAS SIDELINED BY THE APPOINTMENT OF

WILLARD CHIWEWE AS SENIOR SECRETARY OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS

IN AUGUST 2000. ALTHOUGH NO ONE IN THE NORMALLY

SECRETIVE MINISTRY OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS WOULD TALK ABOUT

SIPDIS

THE REASON FOR MAPURANGA’S ABRUPT REMOVAL, OBSERVERS

HERE SPECULATE IT WAS DUE TO THE FACT THAT HIS BROTHER,

LEONARD MAPURANGA, RAN FOR PARLIAMENT IN GOROMONZI

DISTRICT ON THE MOVEMENT FOR DEMOCRATIC CHANGE TICKET.

HE LOST TO THE CURRENT MINISTER OF HIGHER EDUCATION AND

TECHNOLOGY, HERBERT MURERWA. MINISTER OF FOREIGN

AFFAIRS STANISLAUS MUDENGE THEN PLACED DR. MAPURANGA IN

CHARGE OF “SPECIAL PROJECTS,” WHERE THE LATTER KEPT AN

EXTREMELY LOW PROFILE UNTIL HIS CURRENT APPOINTMENT. WE

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PAGE 03       HARARE 01596 140854Z

SURMISE THAT MUDENGE MUST HAVE PERSONALLY INTERVENED TO

RESCUE AND PLACE THE LOYAL AND CAPABLE MAPURANGA.

¶3. (C) COMMENT CONTINUED: WE FOUND MAPURANGA TO BE

FORMAL AND CORRECT IN HIS DEALINGS WITH US (HE NEVER

ASKED US TO REFER TO HIM AS ANYTHING OTHER THAN DR.

MAPURANGA). AN EXCEEDINGLY CAUTIOUS DIPLOMAT, HE NEVER

REVEALED INFORMATION TO US THAT WE COULD NOT READ IN THE

NEWSPAPER. EVEN WHEN INFORMATION CAME FROM HIS

GOVERNMENT, SUCH AS IN AUGUST 1999 WHEN THE CENTRAL

INTELLIGENCE ORGANIZATION SOUGHT THE EXPULSION OF A

USAID CONTRACTOR, MAPURANGA WOULD PRESENT HIS CASE IN

SUCH AN ELLIPTICAL FASHION THAT IT WAS NOT IMMEDIATELY

POSSIBLE TO UNDERSTAND WHAT WAS THE POINT OF THE

CONVERSATION. FORMER UNITED NATIONS HIGH COMMISSIONER

FOR REFUGEES REGIONAL REPRESENTATIVE OLUSEYI BAJULAIYE

TOLD US THAT HE RELIED HEAVILY ON HIS FRIENDSHIP WITH

“MACH” MAPURANGA TO WORK THROUGH THE RELEASE OF THE TWO

CUBAN DOCTORS WHO DEFECTED IN MAY 2000 IN ZIMBABWE.

MAPURANGA IS CAPABLE OF TESTINESS, PARTICULARLY WHEN HE

PERCEIVES AN INTERLOCUTOR TO SAY SOMETHING THAT HE

PERCEIVES AS INFRINGING UPON ZIMBABWE’S SOVEREIGNTY. HE

IS MARRIED, DOES NOT SMOKE, AND DRINKS IN MODERATION.

IRVING

CONFIDENTIAL

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