MDC MP CLIAMS MILITARY PRESSURE ON MUGABE

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 HARARE 001308 SIPDIS SIPDIS AF/S FOR S. HILL NSC FOR SENIOR AFRICA DIRECTOR B. PITTMAN USAID FOR M. COPSON AND E. LOKEN E.O. 12958: DECL: 10/17/2011 TAGS: PGOV PREL PINR ZI SUBJECT: MDC MP CLIAMS MILITARY PRESSURE ON MUGABE Classified By: Ambassador Christopher Dell under Section 1.4 b/d -------------- Summary -------------- ¶1. (C) Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) MP Giles Mutsekwa told polchief in meetings in Mutare and Harare October 19 and 27 respectively that Zimbabwean defense forces commander C.G. Chiwenga and other high-ranking officers had met with Mugabe in September and asked him to step aside. Mugabe deflected their request, stating that ZANU-PF turmoil made change undesirable at this time. Mutsekwa, who is retired military, told polchief that some of his contacts at the colonel and brigadier level want to keep the pressure on Mugabe. They would also like a meeting with U.S. officials outside of Zimbabwe; Mutsekwa said he could facilitate such a meeting. ¶2. (C) In Mutare, polchief also met with former Mutare mayor Mishek Kagurabadza. In discussing USG activities in Zimbabwe, he recommended strongly that the U.S. consider extending travel sanctions to the children of Specially Designated Nationals (SDNs). End Summary. -------------- Military Pushes President to Step Aside -------------- ¶3. (C) Mutsekwa told polchief that from his days as a military officer he maintains contact with a number of current military officers at the colonel and brigadier level. Mutsekwa,s sources informed him that in September Zimbabwean defense forces commander Chiwenga and other high ranking officers met with Mugabe and urged him to step aside. According to Mutsekwa,s sources, the officers primary concern was their fate in case things fell apart or a government not influenced by Mugabe came to power. ¶4. (C) Mutsekwa,s sources told him Mugabe deflected the request by asserting that ZANU-PF was internally troubled and this was not the appropriate time for a change. He also promised to increase salaries and perquisites throughout the military. -------------- Military requests meeting with U.S. officials -------------- ¶5. (C) Mutsekwa added that some of his contacts are interested in meeting with U.S. officials outside of Zimbabwe. According to Mutsekwa, they would like assurances that the U.S. will not pressure to end their pensions and/or have them prosecuted in the event of a new government. Mutsekwa said his contacts led him to believe that with such assurances they would consider gradually withdrawing support from Mugabe. Should the U.S. agree to a meeting, Mutsekwa offered to identify relevant offers and assist with logistics. -------------- Bio Note -------------- ¶6. (C) Mutsekwa was a career military officer and retired with the rank of major. He is currently an MDC Member of Parliament from Mutare and is the MDC national security director. In March 2006 he was arrested with Michael Hitschmann and others on charges of conspiring to kill HARARE 00001308 002 OF 002 Mugabe. Charges against all but Hitschmann were subsequently dropped for lack of evidence; the trial of Hitschmann began this week in Mutare. -------------- Kagurabadza on sanctions -------------- ¶7. (C) Polchief also met in Mutare with former mayor Mishek Kagurabadza. At the end of 2005, Local Government Minister Inatius Chombo, in a ZANU-PF power play, dismissed Kagurabadza and his fellow MDC councilmen. Earlier this year, Chombo extended the term of the commission he appointed to govern Mutare rather than risk an election that Kagurabadza, who won over 80 percent of the vote in the last election, would have almost certainly won. ¶8. (C) In the conversation with polchief, Kagurabadza was particularly vocal on the issue of sanctions. He argued that it was illogical and immoral not to apply travel sanctions to the children of SDNs. It is unfair, he said, to allow them to study in the U.S. while their government minister parents are degrading the Zimbabwean educational system, making it more and more difficult for unprivileged children to receive a quality education. DELL