US embassy cable - 04HARARE1722

S E C R E T SECTION 01 OF 02 HARARE 001722 
 
SIPDIS 
 
NOFORN 
 
AF/S FOR DMOZENA AND BNEULING 
NSC FOR SENIOR AFRICA DIRECTOR C. COURVILLE 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 10/15/2014 
TAGS: PGOV, PHUM, ZI, MDC 
SUBJECT: OPPOSITION LEADER ACQUITTED 
 
REF: (A) HARARE 1571 (B) HARARE 1224 (C) HARARE 334 
     AND PREVIOUS 
 
Classified By: Classified by Charge d'Affaires Paul Weisenfeld under Se 
ction 1.5 b/d 
 
1.  (U) To a packed courtroom in the late morning of October 
15, High Court Justice Paddington Garwe pronounced Movement 
for Democratic Change President Morgan Tsvangirai not guilty 
on a charge of treason.  The verdict brings to conclusion a 
trial that commenced more than a year ago in which the 
Government alleged that Tsvangirai had plotted with a 
Montreal-based consulting firm, Dickens and Madsen, to 
assassinate President Mugabe.  Tsvangirai left the stunned 
courtroom immediately and returned to his residence with 
party supporters.  Presiding Justice Garwe's 90 minute 
recounting of the facts of the case stressed the dubiousness 
of prosecution witnesses and the absence of evidence on key 
components of the charge.  He noted that there was some 
evidence of "sinister" action on Tsvanagirai's part, but 
concluded it was insufficient to convict him of treason. 
 
2.  (SBU) Tsvangirai's defense team told the Embassy that 
Garwe had done a good job in applying the law to the facts 
presented at trial.  Tsvangirai still faces an additional 
charge of treason stemming from his involvement in mass 
action last year.  A court date for that trial has not been 
set and his lawyers would not predict how imminent it might 
be, if it is set at all. 
 
Celebration Suppressed Amid Relative Calm 
----------------------------------------- 
 
3.  (U) Within an hour after the verdict was announced, MDC 
supporters began loudly celebrating in front of the party's 
headquarters in downtown Harare.  Witnesses from the 
Embassy's Public Affairs Office, which is close to the party 
headquarters, reported that armed police moved in quickly to 
disperse the crowd; by early afternoon the area had returned 
to ordinary business with reduced police presence.  There 
have been unsubstantiated reports of isolated incidents of 
violence between police and apparently celebrating citizens 
downtown.  Otherwise, emboffs monitoring the streets of 
Harare reported relative calm by early afternoon, with 
ordinary business proceeding among a heavy police presence. 
Police were joined by military at many of the roadblocks 
along major traffic arteries as the day began.  A military 
jet made several low passes over the downtown area as court 
proceedings commenced. 
 
Uneven Access for Diplomats, Journalists 
---------------------------------------- 
 
4.  (SBU) American and other diplomats attempting to cover 
the trial were initially turned away by police, including one 
who threatened to use force to remove them.  One policeman 
shoved a German diplomat several times with his baton as the 
diplomat was leaving.  South African diplomats arriving after 
Western diplomats were permitted access.  Following 
subsequent efforts by the Embassy through the Ministry of 
Foreign Affairs and police contacts, poloff was granted 
access to the courtroom, by which time most other diplomats 
had left.  Most journalists at the scene were denied entry, 
including some who claimed to have gotten explicit advance 
authorization by the police commissioner. 
 
Comment 
------- 
 
5.  (S/NF) COMMENT: Zimbabwe's beleagured judiciary continues 
to surprise its critics with rulings against the Government. 
It is not clear whether this unexpected acquittal represents 
an assertion of judicial independence or is the product of 
executive direction.  Garwe has long been painted by many as 
under Government control, but some who know him stressed to 
us that his ZANU-PF sympathies were constrained by his 
priority on judicial integrity.  Two earlier postponements of 
the verdict's announcement suggested some wrangling over the 
verdict, but it was unclear whether they stemmed from 
disagreements between Garwe and two independent assessors who 
had to sign off on the judge's assessment of the facts, or 
were the result of government pressure.  Separate RMAS 
reporting indicates that senior security officials believed 
right up to the day before the announcement that the verdict 
was going to be found guilty.  The unusual admission of some 
foreign journalists into the country specifically for the 
verdict announcment, including a CNN correspondent, evidences 
GOZ interest in spinning the story to international audiences 
but does not necessarily indicate advance knowledge by senior 
GOZ circles.  Whether the Government directed the verdict or 
not, it can be expected to exploit the acquittal as a 
vindication of the rule of law in Zimbabwe and as evidence of 
a level political playing field in the run-up to its March 
parliamentary elections. 
WEISENFELD