US embassy cable - 04HARARE1429

UNCLAS HARARE 001429 
 
SIPDIS 
 
C O R R E C T E D Copy - Missing lines 
 
AF/S   FOR   B. NEULING 
NSC  FOR  SENIOR AFRICAN DIRECTOR C. COURVELLE,  D. TEITELBAUM 
LONDON  FOR C.GURNEY 
PARIS  FOR C.NEARY 
NAIROBI  FOR  T. PFLAUMER 
 
 
E.O.  12958 : N/A 
TAGS: PGOV, ZI, ZANU-PF 
SUBJECT:  ZVOBGO DEATH LEAVES VOID IN RULING PARTY 
 
1.(U) Veteran nationalist and ZANU-PF  Member of Parliament for 
Masvingo South, Dr Eddison Jonas Mudadirwa Zvobgo died on August 
22 at the age of 69 after a lengthy illness. The GOZ has declared 
him a national hero; his funeral is scheduled for August 29 at 
Heroes' Acre in Harare. Zvobgo, whose wife passed away earlier this 
year, is survived by his seven children.  Zvobgo was one of the 
first beneficiaries of the African-American Institute scholarships 
for Southern Africans in the early 1960's and studied at Tufts and 
Harvard Universities. 
 
2.(U) In recent years Zvobgo had fallen out of favor with President 
Mugabe, a former friend with whom he worked closely through years of 
civil war and early independence.  He was awaiting investigation over 
his outspoken criticism of the ZANU-PF.  In March 2003, he shocked 
members of parliament when he called for the establishment of an 
anti-corruption commission. Zvobgo accused fellow ZANU-PF members of 
seizing farms and state institutions of poisoning the nation with 
corrupt practices. 
 
3.(U) Zvobgo also played a crucial role on the Parliamentary Legal 
Committee, which passes on the constitutionality of pending 
legislation. Under Zvobgo's direction, the committee frequently issued 
adverse reports on draconian legislation such as the 2002 Public Order 
and Security Act, which was nonetheless passed and has since served as 
the pretext for the routine arrests of Zimbabweans demonstrating agains 
the GOZ. 
 
COMMENT 
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4.(SBU) The country has lost an outspoken and intellectually powerfull 
voice with Zvobgo's passing.  A personal friend of the Ambassador datin 
back to their student days together, he was trusted by the opposition 
party and highly regraded by Zimbabweans as a whole. Like late 
Vice-President Muzenda, Zvobgo was an especially popular figure in his 
politically important Masvingo home province. Zvobgo's controversial 
criticism of ZANU-PF insiders fueled intra-party divisions.  The party 
lacks anyone with the stature, integrity, and courage to assume his 
mantle and his passing may present ZANU-PF with an opportunity to 
fortify its unity in the run-up to the 2005 parliamentary elections. 
 
SULLIVAN