VZCZCXRO6850
OO RUEHBZ RUEHDU RUEHJO RUEHMR RUEHRN
DE RUEHSB #0734/01 2591055
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
O 161055Z SEP 09
FM AMEMBASSY HARARE
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 4898
INFO RUCNSAD/SOUTHERN AF DEVELOPMENT COMMUNITY COLLECTIVE
RUEHAR/AMEMBASSY ACCRA 3025
RUEHDS/AMEMBASSY ADDIS ABABA 3140
RUEHRL/AMEMBASSY BERLIN 1569
RUEHBY/AMEMBASSY CANBERRA 2403
RUEHDK/AMEMBASSY DAKAR 2772
RUEHKM/AMEMBASSY KAMPALA 3188
RUEHNR/AMEMBASSY NAIROBI 5633
RUEHGV/USMISSION GENEVA 2316
RUEAIIA/CIA WASHDC
RUEATRS/DEPT OF TREASURY WASHDC
RHEFDIA/DIA WASHDC
RHMFISS/EUCOM POLAD VAIHINGEN GE
RUZEJAA/JAC MOLESWORTH RAF MOLESWORTH UK
RHEHAAA/NSC WASHDC

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 04 HARARE 000734 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
AF/S FOR B. WALCH 
DRL FOR N. WILETT 
ADDIS ABABA FOR USAU 
ADDIS ABABA FOR ACSS 
NSC FOR SENIOR AFRICA DIRECTOR M. GAVIN 
STATE PASS TO USAID FOR L.DOBBINS AND E.LOKEN 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: EAID PHUM ASEC PGOV PREL ZI
SUBJECT: PEACE (BUT NOT PROSPERITY) RETURNS TO MAZOWE CENTRAL 
 
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SUMMARY 
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¶1. (SBU) During election violence that stretched across Zimbabwe in 
2008, few areas were hit harder than the Mazowe Central constituency 
in the heartland of Mashonaland Central province.  We recently went 
to the rural area to visit a site for a proposed project for the 
Ambassador's Self Help fund.  We were impressed with the resilience 
of the population and the peace that has returned to this area where 
Ambassador McGee was briefly detained at a rural hospital in May 
2008 while visiting violence victims.  Before the March 2008 
elections, all eight of the constituency's councilors and were from 
ZANU-PF.  Now MDC has seven councilors and the MP, while ZANU-PF has 
only one councilor.  Although the new MP is optimistic about his 
constituency's future, he remains deeply concerned that ZANU-PF's 
intimidation structures remain intact and that he needs to deliver 
improvements to ensure continued MDC support.  END SUMMARY. 
 
--------------------------------------------- ----- 
2008: Mazowe Central Turned Its Back on ZANU-PF... 
--------------------------------------------- ----- 
 
¶2. (U) In the March 2008 harmonized elections, Mazowe Central, a 
rural constituency of about 26,000 registered voters located an 
hour's drive north of Harare, turned dramatically away from ZANU-PF 
and voted for the MDC.  Before the election, the local NGO Zimbabwe 
Election Support Network (ZESN) summarized the characteristics of 
the constituency, which was created in 2008 from portions of the 
Mazowe East and West constituencies.  According to the ZESN report, 
most of the youth in Mazowe Central were unemployed and relied on 
subsistence farming.  ZANU-PF had always been favored in this area, 
and that support was strengthened with the initiation of the 
so-called "fast-track" land reform program in 2000. 
 
¶3. (U) Despite a tradition of supporting ZANU-PF, in the March 2008 
elections Mazowe Central voted out seven of eight ZANU-PF councilors 
and elected MDC-T's Shepherd Mushonga as MP.  Mushonga, a lawyer, 
had run for office as an MDC-T candidate several times since the 
party was formed in 2000.  He won his seat by just 145 votes, 
defeating the ZANU-PF candidate, Chenhamo Chimutengwende, who was 
also the Minister of State for Public and Interactive Affairs and 
had been an MP since 1985.  With 59.7 percent of the vote, Morgan 
Tsvangirai dramatically beat Robert Mugabe among Mazowe Central 
voters. 
 
--------------------------------- 
... And Faced Violent Retribution 
--------------------------------- 
 
¶4. (SBU) After the March 2008 elections, violence struck hard in 
Mazowe Central.  In May 2008, Ambassador McGee led a caravan of 
ambassadors and journalists to visit one of Mazowe Central's rural 
public hospitals, Rosa Clinic.  Zimbabwean security forces attempted 
to block the ambassadors from leaving the clinic.  As a result of 
the visit, images of the victims of rural election violence were 
Qthe visit, images of the victims of rural election violence were 
broadcast to the world.  Mushonga was in hiding for several weeks 
during the electoral period, fearing he might become a victim as 
well.  In a recent conversation, he praised Ambassador McGee's 
bravery in visiting the clinic and standing up to the security 
forces, saying "we need more like him." 
 
 
¶5. (SBU) During a recent visit to Mazowe Central, we met one of the 
newly-elected MDC councilors, Martin Musemwa.  He told us that in 
2008 ZANU-PF supporters stole property from his home including two 
solar pnels, five goats, and 51 of his 54 chickens - the goats and 
chickens were eaten by ZANU-PF youths or war vets at nearby bases. 
Although he reported the stolen property to the police, no action 
 
HARARE 00000734  002 OF 004 
 
 
was ever taken.  He felt somewhat vindicated, however, that the 
ZANU-PF supporter who led the thuggery in his area had fled to South 
Africa. 
 
------------------------------ 
Is Spiritual Vengeance Enough? 
------------------------------ 
 
¶6. (U) When we asked about retribution or justice for victims of 
violence or theft during the 2008 election period, Musemwa and 
Mushonga told us that Mazowe North MP Cairo Mhandu (ZANU-PF) had 
"gone mad" (i.e. insane) as a result of his involvement in violence 
in his constituency.  On May 4, 2008 over 70 villagers were brutally 
beaten and tortured during a ZANU-PF re-education session in Chaona, 
in Mazowe North; six men died from their extensive injuries. 
Mushonga told us that Mhandu later wanted to give a cow to the 
family of one victim through one of the local traditional leaders, 
Chief Makope.  The chief reportedly refused to serve as an 
intermediary, telling Mhandu to do it himself.  Mhandu, however, 
never did.  Musemwa and Mushonga both seemed resigned that the 
police would not investigate crimes from 2008, but also placated 
that some perpetrators may face spiritual vengeance.  (NOTE: 
According to local traditional beliefs, vengeful spirits known as 
"ngozi" come from people who were mistreated while alive or killed 
without just cause.  Many perpetrators of violence report they have 
been haunted by the "ngozi," who come back to exact revenge. 
"Ngozi" are believed to be capable of causing disease and hardship 
and may haunt the perpetrators to death if they are not appeased. 
By presenting the family of the victim with a significant gift, such 
as a cow, the perpetrator could hope to appease the "ngozi" who 
haunt him.  END NOTE.) 
 
¶7. (U) According to Musemwa and Mushonga, calm has returned to the 
area.  Although there are reports that in other rural areas ZANU-PF 
youths and war veterans have re-established bases or are holding 
meetings and intimidating members of the opposition, none of these 
things have happened in Mazowe Central.  Zimbabwe Peace Project, a 
local NGO that tracks human rights violations through a network of 
local monitors, confirmed that Mazowe is "quiet" and that very few 
cases of violence or intimidation have been reported in recent 
months. 
 
¶8. (SBU) Nonetheless, Musemwa and Mushonga told us that ZANU-PF 
maintains its presence through 14,000 Ministry of Youth "Ward 
Officers" deployed nationwide who were previously within the ranks 
of the ZANU-PF youths.  These "Ward Officers" are supposed to work 
with local councilors to help distribute seed and other handouts 
from the government.  Most in the MDC and civil society view these 
"Ward Officers" as a blatant effort by ZANU-PF to maintain a 
conspicuous and threatening presence in rural areas that could 
rapidly re-initiate intimidation and violence in the event of an 
election or constitutional referendum.  In his constituency, 
Qelection or constitutional referendum.  In his constituency, 
Mushonga has identified MDC youths to work with the "Ward Officers" 
to keep tabs on their activities.  Although the MDC youths are not 
paid and they are demoralized that the ZANU-PF youths are receiving 
government salaries for essentially nothing, Mushonga believes his 
efforts have stemmed ZANU-PF's ability to use these youths 
effectively. (NOTE: We have previously heard that many ZANU-PF 
youths were absorbed into the Ministry of Youth and the Ministry of 
Gender and Women's Affairs.  The Ministry of Public Service is 
seeking to undertake a survey of all government employees, but it is 
unclear if that survey will identify these individuals who are not 
"ghost" workers, but rather government workers without a legitimate 
job. END NOTE.) 
 
------------------------------------- 
"Green Valley" Still Hungers for Help 
------------------------------------- 
 
 
HARARE 00000734  003 OF 004 
 
 
¶9. (SBU) Mushonga and Musemwa both lamented that the Mazowe area has 
been labeled a "green valley" and was therefore not eligible for 
food assistance.  Although they admit the landscape was once covered 
with fertile farms, now rural farmers struggle to scratch an 
existence on subsistence plots.  Many areas lack irrigation and most 
of the rich commercial farms produce crops such as oranges and wheat 
that are sold in Harare or exported.  Musemwa told us that rural 
shops lack adequate seed and fertilizer, and that if such goods were 
available rural citizens would find a way to buy it. 
 
¶10. (U) As we toured the prospective Self Help project -- a new 
borehole pump to supply the Bell Rock Primary School and surrounding 
community with water -- Musemwa estimated that 75 percent of the 
school's 600 students were orphans.  School officials showed us the 
school's impressive garden where students and teachers grow 
vegetables to help support the students' participation in sports 
competitions with nearby schools.  The borehole pump, which was 
installed in 1974 during the liberation war, functioned until 2007 
when it finally broke after several years of neglect by the 
parastatal Zimbabwe National Water Authority (ZINWA), which took 
over the borehole in 1999.  For the last two years, students and 
teachers have carried water from a river one kilometer away to water 
the garden.  The headmaster told us that many students were affected 
by cholera during the nationwide epidemic last year. 
 
¶11. (SBU) Although Mushonga believed Musemwa overestimated the 
proportion of orphaned children at the school, he concurred that 
many children in his area have been orphaned by HIV/AIDS and live in 
child-headed households or with their grandmothers.  He regretted 
that food assessments had labeled his area a "green valley," 
particularly in light of the large populaton of vulnerable 
children.  He told us that when he asked why his area was deemed 
unworthy of food assistance, government officials told him that they 
"had to say something was green" so as not to embarrass the 
government. 
 
¶12. (U) Mushonga and Musemwa lamented that the rural councils have 
not been able to tax or levy households or businesses to improve 
services.  In many of these small communities, residents refuse to 
give up their precious dollars to the council to improve services, 
demanding instead that services be improved first before they will 
pay. 
 
¶13. (SBU) Although we explained to Mushonga that our ability to 
provide assistance to additional projects in his constituency was 
limited, he eagerly presented us with two more proposals: 
construction and sanitation for a primary school and a clinic.  With 
the government struggling to pay bills, Mushonga has few options 
other than to seek help from potential donors. 
 
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COMMENT 
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¶14. (SBU) In 2008, the Self Help Coordinator could not visit Bell 
Q14. (SBU) In 2008, the Self Help Coordinator could not visit Bell 
Rock Primary due to widespread violence and the risk of travel in 
the area.  In a marked contrast from the Ambassador's visit to Rosa 
Clinic in May 2008, our visit in August 2009 attracted relatively 
little attention, and the few police manning roadblocks lazily waved 
us past without any questions.  Our ability to travel freely is in 
itself a testament to the dramatic change in the political climate. 
The MDC officials in rural areas, such as Mazowe, feel pressure to 
deliver on improved services in substantive ways.  Although donors 
continue to support the Zimbabwean people through humanitarian 
assistance, some areas believe they are neglected by national-level 
efforts.  If Mushonga and his MDC colleagues can't deliver better 
services, will the rural population be more easily convinced to vote 
for ZANU-PF again?  END COMMENT. 
 
 
HARARE 00000734  004 OF 004 
 
 
PETTERSON