Presidents Robert Mugabe, Thabo Mbeki and Olusegun Obasanjo are reported to have held a highly secret four–hour meeting in Harare at which there were no ministers, high commissioners or note takers.
This was disclosed to United States embassy officials by South Africa’s ambassador to Zimbabwe Jeremiah Ndou who said Mbeki and Mugabe did not look comfortable when they came out to face the press.
Mugabe was in a lighter mood, however, during a luncheon that he hosted for his guests when Home Affairs Minister John Nkomo arrived late but in high spirits after meeting with United Nations Development Programme administrator Mark Malloch-Brown.
Mugabe is reported to have joked about Malloch-Brown being British.
The embassy related the joke to Mugabe’s attack on white farmers, the British and anyone standing in the way of the fast-track land resettlement programme on tree planting day.
“If they are not prepared to be part of us, then we will ask them to leave our country harmoniously,” it quoted Mugabe as saying.
Full cable:
Viewing cable 00HARARE6803, SOUTH AFRICAN HIGH COMMISSIONER COMMENTS ON
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This record is a partial extract of the original cable. The full text of the original cable is not available.
050605Z Dec 00
CONFIDENTIAL PTO1650
PAGE 01 HARARE 06803 050607Z
ACTION AF-00
INFO LOG-00 NP-00 AGRE-00 AID-00 ACQ-00 CEA-01 CIAE-00
COME-00 CTME-00 DINT-00 DODE-00 DOEE-00 DOTE-00 SRPP-00
DS-00 EB-00 EUR-00 EXIM-01 E-00 FAAE-00 VC-00
FRB-00 H-01 TEDE-00 INR-00 ITC-01 LAB-01 L-00
VCE-00 AC-01 NSAE-00 OES-01 OMB-01 OPIC-01 PA-00
PM-00 PRS-00 ACE-00 P-00 SP-00 SSO-00 STR-00
TRSE-00 USIE-00 EPAE-00 PMB-00 DSCC-00 DRL-02 G-00
NFAT-00 SAS-00 /011W
——————A78524 050607Z /38
FM AMEMBASSY HARARE
TO SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 7770
INFO NSC WASHDC PRIORITY
SOUTHERN AFRICAN DEVELOPMENT COMMUNITY PRIORITY
AMCONSUL LAGOS PRIORITY
AMEMBASSY ABUJA PRIORITY
AMEMBASSY NAIROBI PRIORITY
C O N F I D E N T I A L HARARE 006803
SIPDIS
NSC FOR SENIOR AFRICA DIRECTOR GAYLE SMITH
PARIS FOR BISA WILLIAMS
NAIROBI FOR PFLAUMER
E.O. 12958: DECL: 12/04/2010
CONFIDENTIAL
PAGE 02 HARARE 06803 050607Z
TAGS: PREL EAGR PGOV ECON ENRG ZI
SUBJECT: SOUTH AFRICAN HIGH COMMISSIONER COMMENTS ON
MBEKI/OBASANJO VISIT
REF: HARARE 6802 (NOTAL)
CLASSIFIED BY AMBASSADOR TOM MCDONALD FOR REASONS 1.5
(B) AND (D).
¶1. (C) SOUTH AFRICAN HIGH COMMISSIONER A.J.D. NDOU TOLD
AMBASSADOR MCDONALD AT LUNCH ON DECEMBER 2 THAT, WHILE HE
HAD WORKED ON THE PREPARATIONS FOR THE MEETING AMONG
PRESIDENTS MBEKI, OBASANJO AND MUGABE, HE HAD NOT BEEN
BRIEFED ON THE SUBSTANCE OF THEIR NOVEMBER 30 MEETING.
ACCORDING TO GODFREY MWEDZI, ZIMBABWEAN MINISTRY OF
FOREIGN AFFAIRS DIRECTOR FOR AFRICA, THE THREE HEADS OF
STATE MET ALONE FOR FOUR HOURS, EXCLUDING MINISTERS,
HIGH COMMISSIONERS AND NOTE TAKERS FROM THEIR
DELIBERATIONS. THEY EMERGED AFTER THEIR MEETING TO FACE
THE PRESS, AT WHICH TIME NEITHER MBEKI NOR MUGABE LOOKED
COMFORTABLE.
¶2. (C) PRESIDENT MBEKI HOPED TO HAVE A CANDID
CONVERSATION WITH MUGABE ABOUT ZIMBABWE’S POLITICAL AND
ECONOMIC QUAGMIRE, BECAUSE HE DOES NOT UNDERSTAND WHAT
IS HAPPENING HERE, ACCORDING TO THE SOUTH AFRICAN HIGH
COMMISSIONER. THE SOUTH AFRICAN HEAD OF STATE REASONS
THAT IF THE ZIMBABWEAN GOVERNMENT ONLY FOLLOWED ITS OWN
LAW WITH RESPECT TO LAND REFORM THE PROBLEMS IT IS
ENCOUNTERING COULD BE RESOLVED. THE ZIMBABWEAN
PRESIDENT SHOULD BE USING THE POLICE IN A NON-PARTISAN
CONFIDENTIAL
PAGE 03 HARARE 06803 050607Z
MANNER AND RESPECTING COURT ORDERS. AS IT WAS, THE LAND
ISSUE IS BECOMING A BIGGER REGIONAL PROBLEM, AFFECTING
NOT ONLY SOUTH AFRICA BUT OTHERS. MBEKI WAS MEASURED IN
WHAT HE SAID, HOWEVER, SINCE HE DID NOT WANT THE DOOR TO
CONTINUING ENGAGEMENT SHUT ON HIM, NDOU TOLD THE
AMBASSADOR. RATHER, THE SOUTH AFRICAN CHIEF EXECUTIVE
LOOKED TO HIS NIGERIAN COUNTERPART TO COME ON STRONGER.
ON AT LEAST THREE PREVIOUS OCCASIONS MBEKI HAD DELIVERED
A SIMILAR MESSAGE, BUT HAD CONCLUDED THAT HE COULD NOT
FORCE MUGABE TO DO SOMETHING THAT HE DID NOT WANT TO DO,
THE SOUTH AFRICAN DIPLOMAT AVERRED. NDOU ALSO TOLD US
THAT THE TWO KEY SOUTH AFRICAN PARASTATALS, ESKOM AND
SASOL, WILL CONTINUE SUPPLYING ZIMBABWE LIMITED AMOUNTS
OF ELECTRICITY AND FUEL ON AN OPEN ACCOUNT BASIS, EVEN
THOUGH THESE ORGANIZATIONS IN THE PAST HAVE ADVOCATED
BUSINESSLIKE DECISIONS BEING TAKEN REGARDING ZIMBABWE.
¶3. (C) DURING THE LUNCHEON THAT MUGABE HOSTED FOR HIS
GUESTS (THAT NDOU ATTENDED), HOME AFFAIRS MINISTER JOHN
NKOMO ARRIVED LATE AND IN GOOD SPIRITS DIRECTLY FROM HIS
MEETING WITH UNDP ADMINISTRATOR MARK MALLOCH-BROWN.
NDOU SAID THAT AFTER NKOMO REPORTED HOW PRODUCTIVE HIS
CONVERSATION HAD BEEN, MUGABE RESPONDED WITH A JOKE
ABOUT MALLOCH-BROWN BEING BRITISH. (COMMENT: ON
DECEMBER 2 AT A NATIONAL TREE PLANTING DAY CEREMONY,
PRESIDENT MUGABE DEPARTED FROM HIS PREPARED REMARKS AND
REVERTED TO HIS INCREASINGLY TRADEMARK, VITUPERATIVE
ATTACK AGAINST THE WHITE FARMERS, THE COURTS, THE
BRITISH AND ANY AND ALL STANDING IN THE WAY OF THE FAST-
TRACK LAND RESETTLEMENT PROGRAM. “IF THEY ARE NOT
PREPARED TO BE PART OF US, THEN WE WILL ASK THEM TO
CONFIDENTIAL
PAGE 04 HARARE 06803 050607Z
LEAVE OUR COUNTRY HARMONIOUSLY,” SAID MUGABE. END
COMMENT.)
MCDONALD
CONFIDENTIAL
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