RSS 2.0 FeedAugust 2011 - Vol 36, Featured Articles
Wikileaks Tsunami - Will Jonathan Moyo be prosecuted?
Pictured : Jonathan Moyo - No longer a laughing matter.
OPINION - Jonathan Moyo’s hypocrisy of wining and dining with a supposedly enemy of the Zanu-pf party, the U.S. Ambassador to Zimbabwe has finally been exposed by a leaked cable now available online, courtesy of Wikileaks website.
At his meeting with Ambassador Christopher Dell on 30 March 2007, cable reference id: #07Harare 270, Jonathan Moyo said it was unlikely Mugabe’s decision to run for president in 2008 would have been successfully challenged from within the ruling party.
Moyo noted that Mugabe genuinely fears “hanging” if he leaves office and suggested international guarantees for his safety could help persuade Mugabe to go.
The Ambassador responded that this was a decision for the Zimbabwean people.
Moyo told the Ambassador that Mugabe was stung by criticism at the Zanu-pf December conference of his decision to extend his term until 2010.
Moyo was aware of the results (of an exercise to gauge Mugabe’s support as a candidate for 2008 elections) from seven provinces: the clear sentiment was that he should not run again.
Because of the lack of support from the provinces, Mugabe largely dampened discussion of 2008 in the Politburo meeting.
An interesting theme that can only be explained by Jonathan Moyo himself is what sounds like his obsession with the subject of military coups. For instance, in Mugabe must go now, Moyo said:
“Curiously, this real coup whose tribal story has not yet been told took place on the morning of the same day during which, later in the evening, a coup plot was allegedly hatched at Dinyane High School in Tsholotsho giving rise to the so-called ‘Tsholotsho Declaration”.
In the leaked cable, Moyo told the American Ambassador that he thought it highly unlikely the military would act on its own and stage a coup.
Then in December 2010, Moyo accused MDC leader Morgan Tsvangirait saying: “As early as 2000 he was actively asking the US to bring troops to Zimbabwe to effect a coup,” (Zimdiaspora, 10/12/10).
Amazingly, in June this year Moyo warned of “the looming danger which will happen as sure as tomorrow is coming. If that happens, all hell will break loose” (Livingstone report now a matter for historians, 19/06/11).
According to the cable, Moyo told the American Ambassador that surviving members of the General Staff of ZANLA believed Mugabe would be defeated in 2008.
That was not different from his own personal views as expressed through the opinion piece, Mugabe must go now, in which Jonathan Moyo said: “The nation is bleeding and it would be very irresponsible to expect Zimbabweans to wait until 2008 for the presidential elections.”
He then gave what he described as “compelling reasons why Mugabe must follow the constitutional exit door by resigning now.” He said: “Mugabe is now a leader of a shelf political party;” “the rot in Zanu-pf smells in government; government has now resorted to ruling through ‘GBO’ Government By Operations” and so on.
When he spoke with the American Ambassador, Moyo believed that a Zanu-pf party led by Mugabe was likely to lose any election. He allegedly said that Mugabe had told Mnangangwa that he feared being hung.
Interestingly, many Zanu-pf officials in the leaked cables seemed too keen to impress on American diplomats that Mugabe feared execution for his alleged rights abuses.
On the issue of sanctions the cable recorded that Moyo accepted the placing of policy makers and their families on sanctions lists, but urged “us” (the American government) not to list parliamentarians who are not members of either Zanu-pf Politburo or Central Committee.
Whether his alleged plea for the exemption of MPs had anything to do with his status then, only Moyo can explain that himself.
Ironically, later through his opinion pieces Jonathan Moyo campaigned vigorously for the resignation and arrest of MDC President Morgan Tsvangirai whom he accused of treasonous acts by calling for the retention of sanctions against Zanu-pf inner circle.
“This is treasonous and Tsvangirai should be held accountable for his actions” Jonathan Moyo said.
One is left wondering if it is the same Jonathan Moyo who was quoted in Cable 07Harare 270, as saying that he had understood a policy of expanding sanctions to include Politburo and Central Committee members (and their families) because they are in decision making positions.
With the revelations coming from Wikileaks, it remains to be seen how Jonathan Moyo will try to stop the whole world from commenting about his hypocrisy in view of his recent attempts to gag the Zimbabwean independent press from publishing articles which he published criticising Mugabe.
At the instigation of Jonathan Moyo, the Attorney General Johannes Tomana appointed a committee of legal experts to explore if there were any grounds for pressing treason charges against Morgan Tsvangirai and the answer was negative.
Accordingly, it line with the rule of law and transparency, it is only right and proper for a similar committee to be
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