VZCZCXRO7599
PP RUEHBZ RUEHDU RUEHMR RUEHRN
DE RUEHOR #0110 0361424
ZNY CCCCC ZZH
P 051424Z FEB 10
FM AMEMBASSY GABORONE
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 6266
INFO RUCNSAD/SOUTHERN AF DEVELOPMENT COMMUNITY COLLECTIVE PRIORITY
RUEAIIA/CIA WASHDC PRIORITY
RHEFDIA/DIA WASHINGTON DC PRIORITY
RHMFISS/HQ USEUCOM VAIHINGEN GE PRIORITY
RHMFISS/HQ USAFRICOM STUTTGART GE PRIORITY
RHEHNSC/WHITE HOUSE NSC WASHINGTON DC PRIORITY

C O N F I D E N T I A L GABORONE 000110 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 02/05/2020 
TAGS: PREL PBTS ZI BC
SUBJECT: BOTS-ZIM TENSIONS RISE OVER ARRESTED GOB OFFICIALS 
 
Classified By: DCM Scott I. Hamilton for reasons 1.4 (b) and (d). 
 
¶1. (C) Summary: The Government of Botswana said it would 
recall its Defense and Intelligence Attaches from Harare by 
the end of February and expects that Zimbabwe will similarly 
recall its Attaches from Gaborone to protest the GOZ's 
January 19 arrest and continued detention of three GOB 
wildlife officials who strayed across the border. In our 
view, the GOB decision to publicly announce the recall of its 
Attaches is a final attempt to gain high-level GOZ attention 
and urge speedy resolution of this matter.  If the GOZ does 
not respond soon, tensions will increase and further strain 
the already difficult Botswana-Zimbabwe bilateral 
relationship.  End Summary. 
 
¶2. (U) On January 19, three officers from the Botswana 
Department of Wildlife were tracking a lion which had 
attacked local cattle near Lesomo (in the far North between 
Pandamatenga and Kasane, along the Zimbabwean border).  The 
officers were driving a GOB vehicle and were armed.  The 
border between Zimbabwe and Botswana is not demarcated in 
this region and the Wildlife Officers say that they 
accidentally crossed into Zimbabwe.  They were subsequently 
arrested by Zimbabwe police and charged with immigration and 
firearms violations.  They have been held in a Zimbabwean 
jail near Victoria Falls for three weeks as a Zimbabwean 
judge hears their case. 
 
¶3. (U) The GOB reports that it has made numerous unsuccessful 
attempts to resolve this misunderstanding through diplomatic 
channels.  In a press statement issued February 4 by the 
Botswana MFA, the GOB says that calls made by Police 
Commissioner Tsimako and Foreign Minister Skelemani to their 
Zimbabwe counterparts have gone unreturned.  The statement 
also says that Vice President Merafhe attempted to meet 
President Mugabe on this issue at the recent African Union 
summit in Addis Ababa, but was unsuccessful.  According to 
the press release, in response to the GOZ's refusal to 
resolve the case, the GOB will recall its Defense and 
Intelligence Attaches from Harare by the end of February, and 
they expect the GOZ to reciprocate. 
 
¶4. (C) Comment:  The GOB has lost patience with the GOZ's 
refusal to communicate and resolve what should be a fairly 
straightforward case of wildlife officials who wandered 
innocently across an unmarked border.  Botswana's decision to 
publicly announce the recall of its Attaches seems to be one 
final attempt to focus high-level GOZ attention on this case 
and urge its speedy resolution.  Senior Botswana Defense 
Force officials confirmed to our DATT that the Botswana 
Attache in Harare has been told to prepare to depart, and the 
Zimbabwean DATT in Gaborone similarly told the U.S. DATT that 
he has been informed by the GOZ that he may be leaving.  As 
neither Attache has actually departed or even been given 
exact instructions yet, it would seem that the threat of 
recall is a political move which could be rescinded should 
the case of the wildlife officials be resolved.  However, if 
this matter is not resolved soon, tensions will increase and 
further strain the already difficult Botswana-Zimbabwe 
bilateral relationship.  End Comment. 
NOLAN