US embassy cable - 05HARARE1620

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 HARARE 001620 
 
SIPDIS 
 
AF/S FOR B. NEULING 
INFO SOUTHERN AFRICAN DEVELOPMENT COMMUNITY 
SENIOR AFRICA DIRECTOR C. COURVILLE 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 08/29/2015 
TAGS: PGOV, PREL, PHUM, ECON, ZI, MDC 
SUBJECT: MDC Split Gets Nastier 
 
Ref: HARARE 001608 
 
Classified By: Charge d'Affaires, a.i. Eric T Schultz under 
Section 1.4 b/d 
 
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Summary 
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1. (C) With the campaign for and against the Senate behind them, 
the two rival MDC factions have begun the battle for control 
over the party's institutions and assets.  The Ncube faction 
drafted a legal application on November 28 seeking to bar party 
president Morgan Tsvangirai from speaking for the party, in line 
with his supposed "suspension" from the party (reftel). 
Tsvangirai in return called a National Council meeting for 
 
SIPDIS 
December 1, during which 57 of the 66 Council members decided 
the party should "disassociate itself" from the leaders of the 
rival faction.  Although Tsvangirai has clearly won the backing 
of the bulk of the party, Ncube and his allies appear determined 
to carry the fight to friendlier ground - the GOZ-dominated 
courts, which regardless of the merits, may very well side with 
the rebels in an effort to further hamstring the opposition. 
End Summary. 
 
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Ncube Faction Turns to Courts 
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2.  (C) Apparently attempting to enforce a letter from party 
Vice President Gibson Sibanda as head of the party's 
Disciplinary Committee purporting to suspend Tsvangirai from the 
party, the pro-election faction drafted an urgent court 
application at the beginning of the week seeking to bar the 
party president from speaking publicly.  According to a report 
in the independent press, the application was spearheaded by a 
"parallel" MDC secretariat that the rebels had set up in 
Bulawayo.  MDC MP Priscilla Misihairabwi-Mushonga, who has 
publicly sympathized with the rebels, told us on December 2 that 
the application, which was drafted by Harare MP Trudy Stevenson, 
was only submitted to the High Court on December 1, after 
apparent difficulty finding a willing lawyer.  (N.B. Ncube is 
likely barred from personally submitting the application for 
conflict of reason interests.) 
 
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Tsvangirai's Riposte 
 
SIPDIS 
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3.  (C) Getting wind of the court move, Tsvangirai moved forward 
a National Council meeting scheduled for December 3 to December 
1 to preempt the possibility of a court ruling siding with the 
Ncube faction.  Attended by 57 of the body's 66 members, the 
Council, which according to the MDC constitution supercedes the 
Disciplinary Committee, adopted by consensus a resolution (e- 
mailed to AF/S) overturning Tsvangirai's suspension on appeal. 
 
4.  (C) The resolution further stated that the Council, acting 
on behalf of the party, had decided to "disassociate itself" 
from Sibanda, Ncube, Deputy Secretary General Gift Chimanikire, 
Treasurer General Fletcher Dulini Ncube, Secretary for 
Information Paul Themba Nyathi, and Secretary for Policy and 
Research Stevenson, all of whom were suspended from their 
leadership positions.  Harare MP and national youth chairman 
Nelson Chamisa was named Nyathi's replacement and National 
Chairman Isaac Matongo - who briefly sided with Ncube et al 
before finally aligning himself with the president - became 
acting secretary general and treasurer general until the party 
Congress names a permanent replacement. 
 
5.  (C) The Council also moved to assert its control of the 
party's assets and financial statements, many of which are under 
the control of the Ncube faction.  The resolution established 
that only Tsvangirai and the Chairpersons of the Party, the 
Women's Assembly, and the Youth Assembly were authorized 
signatories for party transactions.  Treasurer General Dulini 
Ncube was ordered to turn over the party's financial statements. 
 
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Comment 
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6.  (C) Tsvangirai continues to hold the upper hand in the 
intra-party battle with both the party's grassroots and its 
structures firmly on his side.  Moreover, MDC supporters as a 
whole are likely to read the Ncube faction's appeal to the 
ruling party-manipulated courts as a sign of desperation and as 
an act that is well beyond the pale for opposition politicians. 
That said, Ncube and the rebels could very well succeed in 
gaining control of the party name and assets through the courts. 
And, in the interval, their legal maneuvers are likely to 
paralyze the party vis- vis the government until at least the 
MDC Party Congress in February, and possibly beyond.