VZCZCXYZ0006
PP RUEHWEB

DE RUEHC #1720 3632159
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
P 292154Z DEC 09
FM SECSTATE WASHDC
TO AMEMBASSY DAR ES SALAAM PRIORITY 0000

UNCLAS STATE 131720 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: KTIP ELAB KCRM KWMN PGOV PHUM PREL SMIG TZ
SUBJECT: DEMARCHE ON RESTITUTION FOR TANZANIAN TIP VICTIM 
 
¶1. This is an action request; please see para 7. 
 
¶2. BEGIN SUMMARY: Department requests that post present our 
concerns over the failure of Mr. Alan Mzengi, a Tanzanian 
diplomat formerly posted in Washington, DC, and his wife, 
Mrs. Stella Mzengi, to make the court-ordered restitution to 
Ms. Zipora Mazengo, whom they allegedly subjected to forced 
labor and other abuses in the United States over a four-year 
period.  Mr. and Mrs. Mzengi have thus far made no effort to 
provide restitution and have apparently faced no consequences 
for their actions by the Government of Tanzania since their 
return home.  The Department seeks clarification of the 
GOT,s views and actions in relation to this matter. The 
Office of Protocol and Office of East African Affairs will 
make a demarche to the Tanzanian Ambassador in Washington 
parallel to Post,s approach to the GOT. END SUMMARY. 
 
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Background 
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¶3. On October 1, 2007, a U.S. federal court entered a default 
judgment against Mr. Alan Mzengi, a Tanzanian diplomat posted 
in Washington, DC, and his wife, Mrs. Stella Mzengi, as a 
result of their alleged ill treatment of Zipora Mazengo, a 
citizen of Tanzania, whom they brought to the United States 
to serve in their home as a domestic servant. In ruling 
against the Mzengis, the U.S. District Court for the District 
of Columbia entered the following findings of fact.  Mr. and 
Mrs. Mzengi deceived Ms. Mazengo, promising her a job as a 
housekeeper and nanny with a fair wage, a forty hour work 
week, extra pay for overtime, a two-week annual vacation, and 
medical insurance.  Mr. Mzengi signed a contract with Ms. 
Mazengo guaranteeing these terms of employment.  However, 
when Ms. Mazengo arrived in the United States, Mr. Mzengi 
stripped her of both her passport and her employment 
contract.  Instead of the employment conditions promised in 
her contract, Ms. Mazengo faced 17-hour workdays, seven days 
a week.  The Mzengis refused to provide her with necessary 
medical care, consistently refused to give her a day off, and 
did not permit her to leave their home without an escort. 
They subjected her to physical and emotional abuse and did 
not pay her for any of her work over a four-year period. 
 
¶4. Ms. Mazengo fled the Mzengi home after demanding her 
salary in 2004.  She wrote to the Ambassador of Tanzania on 
multiple occasions, requesting that the Ambassador assist her 
in recouping her back wages.  When the Embassy of Tanzania 
did not respond to her appeals, Ms. Mazengo sought assistance 
from the legal system, and the U.S. Department of Justice 
opened a criminal investigation against Mr. Mzengi.  In 2007, 
Ms. Mazengo filed a civil lawsuit in the U.S. District Court 
for the District of Columbia against Mr. Mzengi and his wife, 
 
alleging the couple had trafficked her to the United States 
and held her in forced labor for four years.  On April 28, 
2008, the U.S. federal court issued a final order for damages 
in the case, ordering the Mzengis to compensate Ms. Mazengo 
for the ill treatment she suffered in their home.  The order 
found that the Mzengis jointly and severally liable to Ms. 
Mazengo for a total of $1,059,348.79, including attorney,s 
fees.  The back wages amounted to $170,083. 
 
¶5.  Ms. Mazengo received no assistance from the Embassy of 
Tanzania in reaching a settlement with Mr. Mzengi.  The 
embassy,s demands that Ms. Mazengo appear at the Embassy of 
Tanzania to face questions from embassy officials -- while 
Mr. Mzengi remained employed in the embassy -- served to 
intimidate Ms. Mazengo.  The embassy subsequently refused to 
meet with Ms. Mazengo and her attorneys on neutral territory. 
 Mr. Mzengi left the United States in April 2008 without 
fulfilling the court,s order or attempting to reach 
settlement with Ms. Mazengo.  The Department is not aware of 
any investigation conducted by the Government of Tanzania 
into this matter. 
 
¶6.  The Department of Health and Human Services certified Ms. 
Mazengo as a trafficking victim and she was subsequently 
provided with a T-visa.  (Note: Ms. Mazengo,s lawsuit had no 
relation to her legal status in the United States.) 
 
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Action Request 
-------------- 
 
¶7.  The Department seeks to: a) ensure that the GOT is fully 
informed of the Mazengo case and the outstanding restitution 
claim, b) ascertain if any action has been taken in relation 
to Mr. Alan Mzengi and/or his spouse in relation to the 
Mazengo case, and c) raise concerns about the failure of Mr. 
and Mrs. Mzengi to make the court-ordered restitution to Ms. 
Mazengo.  Additionally, the Department wishes to inform the 
GOT of new provisions in the 2008 reauthorization of the 
Trafficking Victims Protection Act (TVPRA) relating to the 
treatment of domestic workers sponsored by foreign diplomats 
residing in the U.S. (although we are not/not making any 
comment at this time on whether these provisions would apply 
to the Tanzanian Embassy in regard to the Mazengo case). 
 
¶8. Begin demarche points: 
 
-- On October 1, 2007, a U.S. federal court entered a 
judgment against Mr. Alan Mzengi, a Tanzanian diplomat posted 
in Washington, DC, and his wife, Mrs. Stella Mzengi, as a 
result of their alleged ill treatment of Zipora Mazengo, a 
citizen of Tanzania, whom they brought to the United States 
to serve in their home as a domestic servant. 
 
-- In ruling against the Mzengis, the U.S. District Court for 
the District of Columbia entered the following findings of 
fact.  Mr. and Mrs. Mzengi deceived Ms. Mazengo, promising 
her a job as a housekeeper and nanny with a fair wage and 
forty hour work week, extra pay for overtime, a two-week 
annual vacation, and medical insurance.  Mr. Mzengi signed a 
contract with Ms. Mazengo guaranteeing these terms of 
employment. 
 
-- When Ms. Mazengo arrived in the United States, Mr. Mzengi 
stripped her of both her passport and her employment 
contract.  Instead of the employment conditions promised in 
her contract, Ms. Mazengo faced 17-hour workdays, seven days 
a week.  The Mzengis refused to provide her with necessary 
medical care, consistently refused to give her a day off, and 
did not permit her to leave their home without an escort. 
They subjected her to physical and emotional abuse and did 
not pay her for any of her work over a four-year period. 
 
-- Ms. Mazengo fled the Mzengi home after demanding her 
salary in 2004.  She wrote to the Ambassador of Tanzania on 
multiple occasions, requesting that the Ambassador assist her 
in recouping her back wages.  When the Embassy of Tanzania 
did not respond to her appeals, Ms. Mazengo sought assistance 
from the legal system and the U.S. Department of Justice 
opened a criminal investigation against Mr. Mzengi.  Because 
the Mzengis ran a commercial catering business out of their 
home, their activities fell under one of the exceptions to 
diplomatic immunity. 
 
-- In 2007, Ms. Mazengo filed a civil lawsuit in the U.S. 
District Court for the District of Columbia against Mr. 
Mzengi and his wife, alleging the couple had trafficked her 
to the United States and held her in forced labor for four 
years.  On April 28, 2008, the U.S. federal court issued a 
final order for damages in the case, ordering the Mzengis to 
compensate Ms. Mazengo for the ill treatment she suffered in 
their home.  The order found that the Mzengis liable to Ms. 
Mazengo for a total of $1,059,348.79, including attorney,s 
fees.  The back wages amounted to $170,083. 
 
-- The United States is not aware of any assistance provided 
to Ms. Mazengo from the Embassy of Tanzania to reach a 
settlement with Mr. Mzengi.  On the contrary, the embassy,s 
demands that Ms. Mazengo appear at the Embassy of Tanzania to 
face questions from embassy officials )- while Mr. Mzengi 
remained employed in the embassy )- reportedly served to 
intimidate Ms. Mazengo.  The embassy subsequently refused to 
meet with Ms. Mazengo and her attorneys on neutral territory. 
 Mr. Mzengi left the United States in April 2008 without 
fulfilling the court,s order or attempting to reach 
settlement with Ms. Mazengo. 
 
-- The U.S. Government is also not aware of action taken by 
the Government of Tanzania to investigate these criminal 
allegations, to obtain restitution from Mr. Mzengi and his 
wife for Ms. Mazengo, or to otherwise hold the Mzengis 
accountable for their actions.  Please inform us of any 
efforts that have been made in this regard. 
 
-- We respectfully ask that your government assist us in 
obtaining a settlement for Ms. Mazengo from Mr. and Mrs. 
Mzengi.  While payment of the lost wages to Ms. Mazengo is 
our first priority, we also hope that any diplomat who has 
treated his domestic staff in such an abusive manner would 
face appropriate sanction upon his return home. 
 
-- We also ask that the Government of Tanzania adopt a policy 
and practice of investigating allegations of human 
trafficking within its diplomatic corps and holding 
perpetrators accountable.  The issue of the treatment of 
domestic staff by U.S.-based foreign diplomats has received a 
great deal of Congressional and advocacy community interest 
in Washington. Some may interpret the current lack of 
official response to this case as reflecting poorly on the 
Government of Tanzania and on its commitment to combating 
human trafficking. 
 
-- Additionally, we would like to call to your attention 
recent changes in the 2008 reauthorization of the Trafficking 
Victims Protection Act (TVPRA) relating to the treatment of 
domestic workers sponsored by foreign diplomats residing in 
the U.S.  Section 203 of that law mandates the Secretary of 
State to suspend the issuance of A-3 and G-5 visas to all 
applicants seeking to work for officials of a diplomatic 
mission or international organization if the Secretary 
determines that there is credible evidence that one or more 
employees of such mission or international organization have 
abused or exploited one or more A-3 or G-5 visa holders and 
that the diplomatic mission or international organization 
tolerated such actions. 
 
End demarche points. 
 
¶9. The Office of Protocol and Office of East African Affairs 
will be delivering the same points to Ambassador Sefue in 
Washington.  Post is requested to contact Jennifer Weronski 
in Protocol and Justine Treadwell in AF/E via email to 
coordinate timing of demarche delivery. 
 
¶10. The Department appreciates the Embassy,s continued 
efforts to monitor the human trafficking situation in 
Tanzania and raise concerns in meetings with GOT officials. 
CLINTON