SITUATION REPORT: ZIMBABWE CALM AS HIGH COURT

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 HARARE 000287

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

AF/S FOR S. HILL
ADDIS ABABA FOR USAU
ADDIS ABABA FOR ACSS
STATE PASS TO USAID FOR E. LOKEN AND L. DOBBINS
STATE PASS TO NSC FOR SENIOR AFRICA DIRECTOR B. PITTMAN

E.O. 12958: DECL: 04/07/2018
TAGS: PGOV PHUM ASEC KDEM CASC ZI
SUBJECT: SITUATION REPORT: ZIMBABWE CALM AS HIGH COURT
DELAYS RULING

REF: HARARE 274

Classified By: Ambassador James D. McGee for reason 1.4 (d)


1. (SBU) Harare's residents remain calm and continue to go
about daily activities despite entering a ninth day of
waiting for the results of Zimbabwe's presidential contest.
The High Court ruled on April 7 that it does have
jurisdiction in a petition brought by the opposition MDC to
compel the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (ZEC) to release its
official results. The High Court is expected to rule on
April 8 whether the case is urgent enough to require an
immediate ruling. If the court rules in the affirmative,
then the process of hearing the merits of the case would
begin, suggesting that a final ruling would be at least a few
days away.


2. (SBU) Some opposition supporters have expressed doubt that
the court would act quickly to require ZEC to release the
results, particularly in the wake of an announcement by the
government mouthpiece, The Sunday Mail, that ZANU-PF is
calling for a recount of 16 constituencies due to
"miscalculations" during the compilation of votes. The MDC
and civil society groups have questioned how the Mugabe
regime could state that a recount was necessary without
having had access to the results, a tally which ZEC has
repeatedly claimed is ongoing. ZANU-PF is widely rumored to
have insider information, bringing the ZEC's independence
into question.


3. (SBU) Amcit National Democratic Institute staffer Dileepan
Sivapathasundaram, who was detained for questioning at Harare
International airport by the Central Intelligence
Organization on April 3 and released on April 4, was not
charged with any offense but was required to check in with
police on April 5 and April 7. On April 7 he spent the day
at Harare Central Police Station waiting to receive his
passport and permission to leave Zimbabwe; however, he had
not received permission for either by close of business.
Amcit New York Times journalist Barry Bearak, who was
arrested on April 4 and charged with practicing journalism
without accreditation during an election, appeared in
magistrate's court on April 7 and was granted bail. He was
to be transferred to a private clinic for a medical checkup;
his next court appearance was set for when April 10.


4. (C) Ambassador called Reserve Bank Governor Gono on April
7 to express outrage over the treatment of Bearak and
Sivapathasundaram and urge the government to release them
unconditionally. Gono later called Ambassador to say he was
on his way to speak with President Mugabe about the two
Americans.


5. (SBU) While most Zimbabweans remain patient as all eyes
turn to the courts, the Commercial Farmers Union reported the
seizure of and attack on a number of white-owned commercial
farms by war veterans (ZANU-PF supporters) in Masvingo and
Mashonaland. There have been no reports of violence during
any of the incidents. The seizures come in the wake of
rumors printed by government newspapers claiming white
farmers were returning to Zimbabwe to retake their farms if
opposition leader Tsvangirai became president (reftel).


6. (SBU) COMMENT: Whether this latest move by ZANU-PF to
delay the announcement of official results is a tactic to
wait out the interest of the international community and the
will of the Zimbabwean people, as opponents have charged, has
yet to be seen. While urban Zimbabwe remains calm, land
seizures in the rural areas raise questions over whether
tensions are rising as the wait for results persists into a
second week. END COMMENT.

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MCGEE