US embassy cable - 03HARARE516

S E C R E T SECTION 01 OF 02 HARARE 000516 
 
SIPDIS 
 
NSC FOR SENIOR AFRICA DIRECTOR J. FRAZER 
LONDON FOR C. GURNEY 
PARIS FOR C. NEARY 
NAIROBI FOR T. PFLAUMER 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 01/01/2013 
TAGS: PGOV, PINR, ASEC, ZI 
SUBJECT: BOMB ATTACKS PLANNED: LOW-LEVEL MDC INTELLIGENCE 
OFFICIAL 
 
 
Classified By: Political Officer Audu Besmer for reasons 1.5 b/d 
 
Summary: 
-------- 
1. (S) Charles Mutama, Harare regional coordinator for 
intelligence for the MDC, reported to Poloff that the 
Security, Intelligence, and Youth branches of the MDC are 
planning bomb attacks on police stations, militia bases, and 
ZANU-PF-owned shops and gas stations in five cities around 
the country in the coming weeks.  While Mutama has in the 
past been a reliable source, we have no independent 
confirmation that the MDC leadership authorizes the plan, and 
no information on the capability of anyone in the MDC to 
execute such attacks.  End Summary. 
 
2. (S) Charles Mutama, who identifies himself as Harare 
regional coordinator for intelligence for the MDC, reported 
to Poloff today that the Security, Intelligence, and Youth 
branches of the MDC are planning dynamite and petrol bomb 
attacks on police stations, militia bases, and ZANU-PF-owned 
shops and gas stations in five cities around the country in 
the coming weeks. 
 
Long-time Contact 
----------------- 
3. (S) Mutama, who has been known to the Political Section 
for some time, was recruited into the MDC from the student 
movement in 2000, along with MP Job Sikhala.  He said he 
received training in Uganda around that time, but did not 
describe the training.  He was tortured along with Job 
Sikhala on January 14--the resulting burns and scars are 
still visible.  Mutama said he reports to the number two in 
MDC Intelligence, who in turn reports to MDC Intelligence 
Head Solomon Chikowero.  He said Chikowero was briefing MDC 
Deputy Secretary General Gift Chimanikire on the planned 
attacks. 
 
Call to Action Misinterpreted as Call to Attack ? 
--------------------------------------------- ---- 
4. (S) We have heard from a variety of MDC sources that there 
are plans to organize mass action for as early as March 13, 
but more likely about two weeks later due to incomplete 
planning.  Mutama said that the Intelligence, Security, and 
Youth branches are interpreting the call to mass action as a 
call for confrontational activities such as attacking the 
types of targets listed above.  His particular role was to 
identify targets in Harare.  He said that plans for the 
Harare activities were incomplete, but in good shape, however 
he was not sure of the status of plans for attacks in 
Bulawayo, Mutare, Gweru and Masvingo. 
 
Targets Identified but Plans Incomplete 
--------------------------------------- 
5. (S) He said he had identified 41 police stations, several 
businesses from a list of ZANU-PF-owned businesses supplied 
by the MDC Information Department, including several gas 
stations in Harare owned by ZANU-PF officials.  He mentioned 
that the planning for attacks on most police stations in the 
Harare area were in good shape except for several police 
stations in the low-density suburbs, as MDC youths were not 
well represented in those areas.  He mentioned specifically 
that a gas station in Harare suburb of Highfield owned by 
ZANU-PF former Harare mayor Solomon Tawengwa, and a slew of 
Exor gas stations in the Harare area owned by ZANU-PF MP 
Savior Kasukuwere, were on the list, as well as other ZANU-PF 
owned shops.  He also mentioned that employees of the Tel-One 
central telephone switch house on Samora Machel Ave. and 2nd 
Street in downtown Harare had identified phone circuits 
associated with police stations and senior ZANU-PF officials, 
and would disable those circuits at a critical moment.  He 
said that most of the more senior people involved in the 
planning had police or military backgrounds, but that the 
actual attacks would be carried out by MDC youths. 
 
6. (S) He commented that while plans were well underway, 
preparations were nevertheless incomplete, or at least he was 
unaware of all the details.  He said he thought the MDC 
leadership planning the attacks had not thought through the 
whole scenario very well; for example, he anticipated there 
would be reprisals by GOZ authorities, but no one had 
suggested a plan for dealing with those.  He said the goal of 
the activities was to pressure the GOZ to hold fresh 
elections, to re-open negotiations with the MDC leadership, 
and to galvanize the public behind the MDC.  He said he 
thought the MDC leadership was motivated to plan such 
activities by recent press reports criticizing Morgan 
Tsvangirai for taking an ineffective armchair approach in 
 
SIPDIS 
comparison to the more confrontational approach of National 
Constitutional Assembly (NCA) Director Lovemore Madhuku, 
Harare MDC Mayor Elias Mudzuri, and maverick MDC MP Job 
Sikhala. 
 
USG Would Not Condone Violence 
------------------------------ 
7. (S) Poloff responded that the Embassy and USG would not 
support any violent activities, that such activities would 
not motivate the GOZ to re-open negotiations with the MDC and 
instead would most likely justify a violent crackdown against 
the party.  Poloff said the Embassy would support peaceful 
mass action involving as many Zimbabweans as possible, and 
that this represents the democratic process.  Violent actions 
by a few individuals does not represent democracy, would 
jeopardize all that the MDC stood for, and was a bad idea. 
Mutama responded that while he was involved in the planning, 
he didn't think he could head off the initiative, which he 
suggested had wide appeal. 
 
8. (S) Mutama is a longtime Embassy contact who called on 
Poloff to ask his advice on whether he should accept an 
invitation to go to South Africa for torture counseling at 
this critical moment.  Poloff's questions about why the 
moment was critical lead to Mutama revealing the above. 
 
Comment: 
-------- 
9. (S) Mutama is a fairly low-level MDC official, but 
nevertheless levelheaded and soft-spoken, almost bookish.  He 
is not one of the ones who would actually carry out the 
attacks, but his sincerity suggests he is describing a 
planning process that is actually under discussion.  We are 
aware that he may be testing the waters for this plan on 
behalf of either the CIO (in the wake of his torture) or the 
MDC, and will make discreet inquiries as to his legitimacy. 
It is very likely that some members of the MDC are frustrated 
and angry and would like to bomb ZANU-PF facilities, but we 
have no independent confirmation that the MDC leadership 
authorizes the plan.  We also doubt that the MDC is actually 
capable of executing such attacks, especially on the scale 
that Mutama described.  Similar past warnings by anti-Mugabe 
individuals that violent anti-government actions were 
imminent have not panned out.  We are dubious that this one 
will either, but will continue to follow this threat as 
closely as discretion permits and will urge the MDC at 
multiple levels not to engage in violent acts.  End Comment. 
SULLIVAN