US embassy cable - 04HARARE680

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 HARARE 000680 
 
SIPDIS 
 
NSC FOR SENIOR AFRICA DIRECTOR J. FRAZER, D. TEITELBAUM 
LONDON FOR C. GURNEY 
PARIS FOR C. NEARY 
NAIROBI FOR T. PFLAUMER 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 12/31/2014 
TAGS: PGOV, PHUM, PINR, ZI, MDC 
SUBJECT: HARARE MAYOR FIRED IN LATEST GOZ ATTACK ON MDC 
LOCAL AUTHORITY 
 
REF: A. HARARE 188 
     B. HARARE 47 
     C. HARARE 2406 2003 
 
Classified By: Political Officer Audu Besmer for reasons 1.5 b/d 
 
1. (C) SUMMARY:  On April 16 Minister of Local Government 
Ignatius Chombo fired the suspended MDC Mayor of Harare Elias 
Mudzuri without apparent legal justification.  The Mayor said 
he intended to appeal to the High Court to overturn the 
dismissal, but we hold little hope for his success.  END 
SUMMARY. 
 
Harare Mayor Suspended Without Justification 
-------------------------------------------- 
 
2. (C) In an April 15 letter from Chombo to Mudzuri, Chombo 
referred to an investigation into Mudzuri's conduct as Mayor 
and said that the President directed him to vacate his office 
and house within seven days. 
 
3. (U) Although the letter gave no justification for the 
dismissal, an article in the government-controlled Herald 
cited corruption, abuse of power, improper dismissal of 
council staff, improper tender procedures and failure to 
cooperate with the GOZ as reasons for the firing. 
 
4. (C) In a conversation with the Ambassador on April 20 at 
the Residence, Mudzuri said he intended to challenge the 
dismissal and eviction in the High Court.  This would be the 
latest in a string of court applications by Mudzuri over the 
past year objecting to his suspension and investigation. 
Mudzuri said that under Zimbabwean law an election is 
required within 90 days of a Mayor vacating office and 
Mudzuri intended to run again. 
 
5. (C) Mudzuri said that he would consider writing a letter 
to the African Union of Local Authorities (AULA), copying it 
to the international media, clearly outlining that there was 
no legal justification for his dismissal. 
 
6. (U) On April 20, the Combined Harare Residents' 
Association (CHRA) issued a strongly-worded condemnation of 
Mudzuri's dismissal.  MDC Bulawayo Mayor Japhet Ndabeni-Ncube 
publicly criticized the political nature and lack of legal 
justification for the decision in an April 18 article in the 
independent weekly The Standard. 
 
Mudzuri Suspension Background 
----------------------------- 
 
7. (U) Chombo suspended Mudzuri in April 2003 and set up a 
nine-member commission led by Professor Jameson Kurasha to 
investigate him.  A November 2003 High Court ruling declared 
that the Kurasha commission was improperly formed and the 
evidence it gathered could not be used to fire Mudzuri (Ref 
C).  The Kurasha commission submitted its report to Chombo in 
January (Ref A) -- the contents of which have never been made 
public.  In March Chombo appointed a new three-member 
commission headed by lawyer Johannes Tomana to consider 
allegations against the Mayor and recommend whether to fire 
Mudzuri.  In various press reports Tomana said his commission 
purposefully did not review the Kurasha report so as not to 
prejudice itself, but instead made its recommendation to fire 
Mudzuri based on interviews with council staff.  Mudzuri 
refused to be questioned by Tomana absent the Kurasha report. 
 
8. (C) COMMENT:  While there have been two commissions set up 
to investigate Mudzuri, both of which have filed reports or 
made recommendations to Minister Chombo, Chombo cited no 
findings, and gave no reasons in his April 15 dismissal 
letter to Mudzuri.  Given the political motivations behind 
Mudzuri's firing, we think the chances are slim that 
Mudzuri's appeal to the High Court could result in a decision 
overturning his firing and eviction.  Taken with a ZANU-PF 
mob's April 21 forcible eviction of the duly elected MDC 
mayor of Mutare (Septel), the message from the GOZ to MDC 
local authorities seems clear, you are treading on thin ice, 
watch your step or we will take you down by any means 
necessary. 
SULLIVAN