SHOOTOUT ON COMMERCIAL FARM

C O N F I D E N T I A L HARARE 002073 SIPDIS NSC FOR SENIOR AFRICA DIRECTOR JENDAYI FRAZER LONDON FOR CGURNEY PARIS FOR CNEARY NAIROBI FOR PFLAUMER E.O. 12958: DECL: 09/10/2012 TAGS: PGOV EAGR PHUM ZI SUBJECT: SHOOTOUT ON COMMERCIAL FARM Classified By: political section chief Matt Harrington. Reasons: 1.5 ( B) and (D). ¶1. (C) Late in the morning of September 10, commercial farmer Ian Cochrane reportedly engaged in a shootout with three men on his property near Karoi, some 250 km northwest of Harare. Miraculously, no one was hurt, and only a vehicle belonging to a nearby farmer who came to help was damaged. ¶2. (C) The account of the incident was relayed to us by two other commercial farmers in Karoi -- Chris Shepherd and Alan Parsons -- who are reliable embassy contacts and received a report directly from Cochrane. According to our sources, Cochrane had gone to the aid of his mother, who was besieged by settlers in her residence, some 400 meters from Cochrane's own house. He forced his way through a group of demonstrating settlers by firing his shotgun into the ground, then ran to the back of the house when he found the front locked. He encountered three men, two holding shotguns and the other an automatic rifle. One of the men -- Patrick Maponga -- has played a leading role in recent efforts to evict commercial farmers in the area and is believed by area residents to be a major in the Zimbabwean military. Maponga and his two compatriots, we are told, opened fire on Cochrane, who responded in kind, and a shootout ensued. We understand that Cochrane is now safely inside his mother's residence, the three attackers have fled, and police have responded to the scene. ¶3. (C) Comment: Although details are still fuzzy, at first blush, this incident has the definite appearance of a (potentially deadly) set-up. Although we may never know the intent of the three armed men, it is clear that the government will use it to the fullest in its propaganda campaign against white farmers. We expect Ian Cochrane to play the prominent role of villain in the government-controlled press on September 11, and the GOZ could use this incident to justify an intensified crackdown on "resistant" commercial farmers. SULLIVAN