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UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 05 HARARE 000513 
 
SENSITIVE 
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: N/A 
TAGS: PGOV PREL ASEC PHUM KDEM ZI
SUBJECT: ZIM VIOLENCE AND ARRESTS, IN DETAIL 
 
¶1. (SBU) SUMMARY. The Mugabe regime's political crackdown 
ahead of the June 27 presidential run-off is increasingly 
targeting opposition leadership. On June 12, presidential 
candidate Morgan Tsvangirai was twice detained by police 
while attempting to campaign, bringing the total to four 
detentions in eight days. Tsvangirai was released late that 
evening. Also on June 12, MDC Secretary General Tendai Biti 
was arrested upon his return to Zimbabwe from South Africa 
and charged with treason in addition to outstanding charges 
of communicating statements prejudicial to the State; he 
continues to be held incommunicado. On June 9, Tsvangirai 
held a press conference denouncing the violence and 
harassment in which he reported that 66 MDC supporters have 
been killed, 200 remain missing, 3,000 have sought medical 
treatment for injuries and at least 25 thousand have been 
displaced during the ZANU-PF campaign. At least eight MDC 
MPs have been arrested or detained in the aftermath of the 
March 29 national elections in which the combined opposition 
won a majority of seats in parliament. Women, children and 
the elderly relatives of MDC officials have also been singled 
out for beatings and even death in an ongoing attempt to 
intimidate would-be MDC voters and shake the foundations of 
the party's infrastructure. Without a major shift in the 
current environment brought about by mass domestic and 
international monitoring delegations, chances for a free and 
fair June contest are minute. END SUMMARY. 
 
----------------- 
Top tier targeted 
----------------- 
 
¶2. (SBU) On June 12, Morgan Tsvangirai and his election 
staff were twice detained by police while attempting to 
campaign in central Zimbabwe as part of a three week campaign 
blitz through the countryside. Tsvangirai was first stopped 
in Kwekwe at a police road block ahead of a planned rally; he 
was held for several hours and then released. Tsvangirai and 
staff were again stopped that evening in Gweru, where they 
were taken to a police station. Police searched the two MDC 
campaign buses before releasing the opposition members at 
10:30pm on orders to return in the morning with paperwork for 
the vehicles. On June 13, police reportedly found 
"irregularities" with the paperwork for the campaign buses 
(which were registered in South Africa) and impounded them. 
MDC lawyers are currently working to secure the release of 
the buses. These detentions mark the fourth time in eight 
days that Tsvangirai has been stopped and held by police, 
typically for the duration of what was intended to be an MDC 
rally. 
 
¶3. (SBU) Also on June 12, MDC Secretary General Tendai Biti 
was arrested upon his return to Zimbabwe from nearly two 
months of self-imposed exile in South Africa. Biti reported 
from Johannesburg that he expected to be arrested upon 
arrival on an outstanding warrant charging he communicated 
statements prejudicial to the State by announcing that 
Tsvangirai had won the March 29 contest ahead of the Zimbabwe 
Electoral Commission, as prohibited by the Electoral Act. 
Biti was reportedly taken from the Harare International 
Airport airplane ramp-way by plain-clothed security officers 
to an unknown location. Biti has been charged with treason, 
which carries the death penalty, in addition to the previous 
charge; he is currently being held incommunicado. His 
lawyers report they suspect he is in Harare and plan to file 
an urgent High Court petition demanding access on June 13. 
 
---------------- 
Terror unleashed 
---------------- 
 
¶4. (U) At a June 9 press conference that followed the 
convening of the MDC's national executive meeting, Morgan 
Tsvangirai stated that the MDC "as a party" condemned the 
government's ongoing campaign of violence against opposition 
supporters, noting that "the country has experienced a de 
facto coup d'etat and is now effectively run by a military 
junta." Citing a "terror unleashed on the people," 
Tsvangirai stated that 66 MDC supporters have been killed by 
government agents since the March 29 national elections and 
that 200 remain missing, with some 3,000 having sought 
medical treatment and at least 25 thousand displaced. Party 
leadership, candidates and polling agents were particularly 
targeted for attacks. 
 
¶5. (U) Tsvangirai denied rumors of secret talks between the 
MDC and ZANU-PF on a possible government of national unity 
and insisted that the MDC was focused solely on the run-off. 
"No one can change the process for the run-off," he stated, 
"unless Mugabe steps down or collapses." Despite ZANU-PF 
infiltration of the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission with loyal 
security forces and attempts to abuse the postal voting 
system by forcing the army and police to vote for Mugabe, 
Tsvangirai called the ruling party's campaign a "doomsday 
strategy," and remained confident that the MDC would win: 
"Even if I stay home from now until the election, Mugabe will 
still lose. The people have spoken." 
 
------------------------------- 
Eight MDC MPs arrested/detained 
------------------------------- 
 
¶6. (SBU) Despite securing a majority of seats in the House 
of Assembly, numerous MDC MPs and one senator have been 
arrested, detained or gone into hiding since the announcement 
of presidential election results on May 2. These accounts 
illustrate a pattern of charging MDC officials with inciting 
violence, the State automatically appealing bail when it is 
granted, and police who do not follow court orders when bail 
is granted. Cumulatively, these eight MPs from seven 
provinces have spent more than 45 nights in jail. 
 
Eric Matinenga, MP-elect from Buhera West 
Arrested: May 31, 2008 
Charges: Inciting public violence. In his court hearing on 
June 4, 2008, the magistrate refused to put him on remand, 
saying the State had failed to provide any evidence against 
him. She dropped the charges against him. 
Released: June 5, 2008 
Re-arrested: June 7, 2008 
Charges: The same public violence charges that the magistrate 
dropped days earlier. 
Ordered released: Monday June 9, 2008. However, as of June 
11, Matinenga remains in jail as police refuse to comply with 
the court order. 
 
Norman Mpofu, MP-elect from Bulilima East and 
Lutho Tapela, Senator-elect from Bulilima-Mangwe 
Detained: May 24, 2008 in Plumtree with two local activists. 
Accused of holding an illegal meeting. 
Charges: None filed 
Released: May 27, 2008 
 
Amos Chibaya, MP-elect from Gweru 
Detained and Released May 21, 2008 
Charges: "Undermining public confidence in the police force" 
for comments he made at a rally about police officers having 
voted for MDC. 
 
Iain Kay, MP-elect from Marondera Central 
Arrested: May 20, 2008 
Charges: Inciting violence. Kay is accused of masterminding 
violence in Mashonaland East. He was held for more than 48 
hours before being formally charged. When he did appear in 
court, the State appealed bail, which was eventually granted. 
Released on bail: June 2, 2008 
 
Heya Shoko, MP-elect from Bikita West 
Detained and Released May 12, 2008 after being held for four 
hours. 
Charges: Public violence. He was accused of involvement in 
violence and arson. 
 
Misheck Shoko, MP-elect from Chitungwiza South 
Detained and Released May 12, 2008 
Charges: Inciting violence. Accused of planning to raid a 
ZANU-PF youth militia base in Seke. 
 
Trevor Saruwaka, MP-elect from Mutasa Central 
Arrested: May 11, 2008 at Penhalonga Police Station. 
Saruwaka had gone to the station to look for an MDC youth 
abducted by war veterans. He was ordered arrested at the 
police station. 
Charges: Inciting violence 
Awarded bail: May 14, 2008 
Released from jail: May 20, 2008 
 
--------------------------------------- 
Lower- and mid-level activists murdered 
--------------------------------------- 
 
¶7. (SBU) In addition to targeting of high-profile MDC 
officials and MPs, there are reports of a plethora of 
attacks, including torture and murder, on lower-level 
candidates and activists as part of the Mugabe regime's 
systematic attempt to collapse the opposition's grassroots 
network. The following are just some examples: 
 
On May 22, Shepherd Jani, the MDC treasurer in Mashonaland 
East, was abducted from the sidewalk in Murehwa and pushed 
into a truck by four men suspected of being intelligence 
officers. Jani's mutilated body was found two days later, 
Tsvangirai attended his funeral in Murehwa on May 28. 
 
Beta Chokururama, a member of the MDC national youth, was 
found dead in Chikwaka village, Mashonaland East on May 14. 
He and two other MDC activists, Cain Nyevhe and Godfrey 
Kauzani, had been abducted on May 13 by two full Toyota 
trucks with no license plates. Nyevhe and Kauzani's bodies 
were found on May 18 in Goromonzi; at their funerals in 
Harare on May 21, ZANU-PF supporters attacked some of the MDC 
mourners. 
 
On May 14, Tonderai Ndira, MDC Secretary for Security in the 
Youth Assembly, was abducted from his home in a high density 
suburb of Harare. His mutilated body was found on May 21 in 
Goromonzi. Ndira was a well-known MDC activist who had been 
arrested more than 30 times. Tsvangirai attended his funeral 
in Harare on May 25. 
 
In Chiweshe, Mashonaland Central, a group of 70 villagers was 
beaten and tortured on May 5; six were killed, One of the 
men killed, Joseph Madzuramhende, was allegedly told that his 
crime was having a radio where villagers came to listen to 
Studio 7 (the popular Voice of America radio program). He 
was severely beaten and tortured for several hours by six 
ZANU-PF youths before he died. 
 
MDC activist Tabitha Marume was shot and killed on April 25 
in Manicaland when a group of war veterans opened fire on a 
group of MDC supporters. Marume and 21 other MDC supporters 
had gone to a torture camp to seek the release of 12 MDC 
members who had been abducted by war veterans on April 23. 
When they attempted to release their colleagues, they were 
confronted by 50 war vets and ZANU-PF youths, 12 with AK-47s. 
As they attempted to flee, three, including Marume, were 
shot. According to eye witnesses, retired Colonel Daniel 
Romeo Mutsvunguma, the former Zimbabwean Defense Attache in 
Washington, fired the fatal shot that killed Marume. 
 
----------------- 
Families targeted 
----------------- 
 
¶8. (SBU) The targeting of family members and others close 
to MDC leaders appears to be increasingly employed as a 
tactic of intimidation and coercion. In both rural and urban 
areas, women, children and the elderly have not been exempted 
from ZANU-PF's campaign of murder, beatings, and displacement 
in an attempt to further weaken the opposition's structural 
framework ahead of the run-off. The following are confirmed 
recent attacks carried out on those in the MDC orbit: 
 
On June 10, the home of MP Blessing Chebundo in Hurungwe, 
Karoi was set on fire by ZANU-PF supporters. Chebundo's 
family members were injured in the blaze and his younger 
brother is missing. 
 
On June 7, a ZANU-PF mob murdered the wife of Patson Chipiro, 
Chairman for Mhondoro Ngezi, by cutting off her hands and 
legs, dragging her body into the kitchen and setting it on 
fire. The attack was reportedly ordered by Deputy 
Information Minister Bright Matonga, the ZANU-PF MP for 
Mhondoro Ngezi. 
 
On June 6, the home of Brian Mamhova, the District Councilor 
for Ward 1 in Harare South, was set on fire by ZANU-PF 
supporters who arrived in four packed vehicles. The mob was 
reportedly promised Z$25 trillion (approximately US$12,500) 
to kill Mamhova, who escaped unharmed with his brother and 
nephew. However, Mamhova's pregnant wife and six-year-old 
son perished in the fire and his neighbors were beaten. 
Police were uncooperative when asked to investigate and 
Mamhova remains in hiding. 
 
On June 1, the family of Piniel Denga, the MP Elect for Mbare 
in Harare was attacked by a group of ZANU-PF supporters. 
Denga's brother, nephews and nieces were force-marched from 
the family homestead in Chivu to a torture camp in Chipisa, 
where they were told to denounce the MDC. They were then 
beaten with logs; Denga's brother suffered a broken leg, his 
niece a broken hand and others received lacerations to their 
bodies. 
 
On May 30, MDC spokesman Nelson Chamisa's 78-year-old 
grandmother, mother and brother were assaulted by armed 
soldiers who raided their home in Gutu South. The attackers 
then beat other family members living in the area. Major 
General Englebert Rugejo was reportedly responsible for 
ordering the attack. 
 
On May 26, Mabel Penisara, the wife of MP Iain Kay's campaign 
manager, was abducted and tortured by 20 ZANU-PF thugs. She 
was left naked by a roadside, where she was found alive on 
May 28. 
 
On May 13, war veterans abducted the parents of exiled MDC 
official Elliot Pfebve in Nyakatondo village in Mt.Darwin. 
Pfebve's 79-year-old father and 76-year-old mother were tied 
up with wire and taken, along with several other family 
members, to a reported torture camp at Nyakatondo Primary 
School. Amnesty International stated it would help 
investigate the case; however, there is no further 
information available at this time. The Pfebve's have been 
the target of politically-motivated violence before: In 2000, 
during one of Elliot's campaigns, his brother Matthew was 
abducted from the family's home and killed, and Pfevbe's 
father was injured, both allegedly by armed ZANU-PF 
supporters. 
 
¶9. (SBU) COMMENT: The confirmed cases above, though just a 
few of the myriad incidents reported since the March 29 
elections, demonstrate the breadth and depth of the 
government's effort to eliminate political space for the 
opposition. ZANU-PF supporters act with total impunity to 
carry out the orders of, in many cases, senior level 
officials. Free and fair elections are impossible under 
current conditions and we have no sign that in the coming 
days things will improve. The arrival and active engagement 
of a full contingent of domestic and international observers 
remains imperative if Zimbabwe is to have any chance at a 
credible run-off. END COMMENT. 
 
McGee