US embassy cable - 04HARARE1526

C O N F I D E N T I A L HARARE 001526 
 
SIPDIS 
 
AF/S FOR B. NEULING 
NSC FOR SENIOR AFRICA DIRECTOR C. COURVILLE 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 09/09/2009 
TAGS: PGOV, PHUM, ZI, MDC 
SUBJECT: OPPOSITION FIGURES ARRESTED, OFFICES RAIDED 
 
REF: (A) HARARE 1497 (B) HARARE 693 (C) HARARE 220 
 
Classified By: AMBASSADOR CHRISTOPHER W. DELL UNDER SECTION 1.5 B/D 
 
1.  (SBU) Zimbabwean police on the evening of September 8 
arrested MDC MP and Shadow Minister for Youth Affairs Nelson 
Chamisa and 13 of his constituents at his home in Kuwadzana, 
a high-density suburb of Harare.  Chamisa,s lawyer told us 
that he expected Chamisa to be charged under the Public Order 
and Security Act (POSA) for holding a constituency feedback 
meeting at his house without police approval.  Still in 
custody as of the afternoon of September 9, Chamisa retained 
his cell phone and was in touch with the party and his 
lawyer, who said he would likely be released that day or the 
next. 
 
2.  (C ) Separately, MDC MP and Shadow Minister of Justice 
David Coltart confirmed to Poloff that police had raided the 
MDC,s Bulawayo offices on September 7.  They initially 
arrived without a warrant, were denied entry, and returned 
with a warrant to search for "subversive materials."  None 
were found.  Coltart also reported that authorities had 
informed him September 8 that they planned to resuscitate a 
two-year old case, suspended last year, against him on a 
charge of discharging a firearm near a public road.  A date 
had yet to be set for the case, in which he faced a fine of 
ZD2000 (about USD 0.40). 
 
3.  (SBU) In a third recent incident of harassment, 
Zimbabwean police released National Constitutional Assembly 
(NCA) President Lovemore Madhuku at 5:00 p.m. September 8 
after arresting him twelve hours earlier at his home. 
According to NCA sources, he had been charged under POSA for 
organizing a public demonstration without police approval 
(ref A).  Police also searched NCA offices and had wanted to 
seize the organization,s membership lists but were dissuaded 
by NCA lawyers. 
 
4.  (C) COMMENT: The MDC,s publicized election boycott 
(albeit conditional) does not appear to have altered the 
ruling party,s campaign tactics for the March parliamentary 
elections.  The Chamisa and Madhuku arrests are consistent 
with historical patterns of declining GOZ tolerance for 
critics in the run-up to elections and likely presage even 
tougher times for ruling party opponents.  That said, POSA 
may be a useful tool for harassment but it is not a decisive 
weapon in the ruling party,s arsenal.  The state has 
arrested thousands under this colonial vestige but has never 
secured a conviction.  The temporary loss of liberty and 
associated legal costs nonetheless deter civil disobedience 
for many prospective activists and smear opposition MPs with 
adverse publicity in the government media. 
Dell