FEBRUARY 3 TREASON TRIAL OF MDC PRESIDENT

UNCLAS HARARE 000230 SIPDIS LONDON FOR CGURNEY PARIS FOR CNEARY NSC FOR SENIOR AFRICA DIRECTOR JENDAYI FRAZER NAIROBI FOR PFLAUMER E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: PGOV PHUM PINR ASEC ZI SUBJECT: FEBRUARY 3 TREASON TRIAL OF MDC PRESIDENT ¶1. The common law treason trial of three Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) leaders -- President Morgan Tsvangirai, Secretary-General Welshman Ncube, and Member of SIPDIS Parliament Renson Gasela -- is scheduled to begin in Zimbabwe's High Court on Monday, February 3. The trial was originally scheduled for November 11, 2002 but was postponed after state prosecutors failed to provide certain evidence requested by the defense attorneys. The GOZ is alleging that, in the months leading to the March 2002 presidential election, the three MDC officials plotted the assassination of President Mugabe with a lobbying firm headed by notorious businessman Ari Ben-Menashe. ¶2. Innocent Chagonda, a member of the MDC's legal team, was confident about the defense's case when we spoke to him on January 30. He seemed to relish the prospect of cross-examining principal GOZ witness Ben-Menashe, whose credibility likely will not be difficult to impugn. He even suspected that Ben-Menashe might not appear at trial, as prosecutors refused to share their witness list. Comment -------------- ¶3. Most independent observers of Zimbabwe's political scene have dismissed the charges as a transparent attempt to keep the pressure on Zimbabwe's principal opposition party by forcing it to commit scarce resources to legal counsel, and that the case provided a convenient excuse to confiscate the passports of the three accused. The MDC certainly has reason to feel confident -- its legal team, led by renowned South African attorney George Bizos, is strong, and the state's evidence is, at best, flimsy. However, the stakes are very high and there are signs which should worry the MDC. High Court Judge Paddington Garwe has opted to handle this case himself, and Garwe is well-known as a ruling party sympathizer. In fact, Garwe dismissed several MDC challenges to 2000 parliamentary election results although the opposition party presented overwhelming evidence of political violence and electoral manipulation. Under common law, Garwe will have significant leeway in determining whether to convict -- he would be more constrained had Tsvangirai been charged under a particular statute with treason -- and in determining the length of any prison sentence should there be a conviction. SULLIVAN