06 08 13 Diamonds net – Mugabe Buys Another Term With $900M in Diamond Funds
The classified documents reveal how Mugabe's ZANU-PF party
received $800 million from two diamond mining companies controlled by Chinese
investors and senior military commanders in the Zimbabwean army, police and
intelligence services. Joseph Kabila, the president of the Democratic Republic
of the Congo, allegedly gave $85 million and the government of Equatorial Guinea
gave $92 million to the slush fund.
ZANU-PF used the money to pay an Israeli
firm, which the documents name, to rig the electoral roll, according to the
documents. The company requested $3 billion “to secure 50 percent of the adult
vote'' for Mugabe.
The documents also disclose that Zimbabwe's intelligence
service, the Central Intelligence Organisation (CIO), spied on communications
between foreign diplomats in the run up to last week's elections. One document
says that conversations between British Prime Minister David Cameron and South
Africa's President Jacob Zuma were monitored by the CIO.
The documents also
accuse Morgan Tsvangirai, leader of Mugabe's opposition party, the Movement for
Democratic Change (MDC), of passing state secrets to foreign governments,
putting Tsvangirai at risk of arrest.
The debate about the extent to which
Mugabe rigged the elections has centerd on an elusive document contained in 1958
ring binders and weighing more than two tons — the electoral roll.
In many
areas, particularly ZANU-PF strongholds, the number of registered voters far
exceeded the adult population. “How is this possible?'' asked a political
adviser with strong government links. “ZANU-PF created millions of ghost voters
they then used to swing the elections.''
The government's attempts to block
access to the electoral roll broke into the open in the weeks before the
election when the High Court, on orders from the registrar-general, banned the
publication of an investigation into these discrepancies.
Tobaiwa Mudede, the
registrar and a Mugabe loyalist, accused the group behind the investigation —
the Research and Advocacy Unit — of trying to cause chaos.
A leaked copy of
the group's damning report states that more than two million potential voters
under the age of 30, an age group more likely to vote for the MDC, had been left
off the electoral roll.
The investigation found more than one million dead
people had been registered, along with more than 116,000 people age over 100,
including a 135-year-old army officer. That same electoral roll has about
900,000 duplicate names with identical addresses and dates of birth but
different ID numbers.
The intelligence documents reveal Mugabe hired the
Israeli company to add duplicate names, allowing ZANU-PF supporters to vote many
times in different wards.
The intelligence documents show a member of the
Chinese Communist Party liaised with the Middle Eastern firm and the
registrar-general's office to “neutralize hostile votes'' in urban areas by
under-registering young voters and over-registering older ones.
The documents
show ZANU-PF bought the loyalty of election observers.
The documents state
that “33 percent of the budget will cover regional diplomacy to drum up support
for poll credibility before, during and after elections''.
A Chinese
investor, Sam Pa, who is chairman of one of Zimbabwe's largest diamond mining
operations, provided ZANU-PF with two million campaign T-shirts and other
election regalia.
Another company, which allegedly wants to buy concessions
in the diamond mining sector, provided 500 vehicles to the Mugabe campaign for
“transport and mobilization,'' the files state.
They reveal the extent to
which Mugabe was terrified of losing. “The state of the party at cell and ward
level is compromised and under siege from the enemy,'' the CIO stated. The
documents show China provided Mugabe's government with short-wave jamming
equipment to shut down local radio stations deemed to be pro-MDC.
Fears are
rising that Mugabe's landslide could split the MDC, which held emergency
meetings over the weekend on how to tackle the crisis.
A divided opposition
would further strengthen Mugabe's 33-year rule which, critics say, has been
characterized by crippling economic mismanagement and human rights
abuses.
“Mugabe's now got a license to loot,'' said Paul Collier, director
of the Centre for the Study of African Economies at Oxford University.
(c)
2013 News Limited
received $800 million from two diamond mining companies controlled by Chinese
investors and senior military commanders in the Zimbabwean army, police and
intelligence services. Joseph Kabila, the president of the Democratic Republic
of the Congo, allegedly gave $85 million and the government of Equatorial Guinea
gave $92 million to the slush fund.
ZANU-PF used the money to pay an Israeli
firm, which the documents name, to rig the electoral roll, according to the
documents. The company requested $3 billion “to secure 50 percent of the adult
vote'' for Mugabe.
The documents also disclose that Zimbabwe's intelligence
service, the Central Intelligence Organisation (CIO), spied on communications
between foreign diplomats in the run up to last week's elections. One document
says that conversations between British Prime Minister David Cameron and South
Africa's President Jacob Zuma were monitored by the CIO.
The documents also
accuse Morgan Tsvangirai, leader of Mugabe's opposition party, the Movement for
Democratic Change (MDC), of passing state secrets to foreign governments,
putting Tsvangirai at risk of arrest.
The debate about the extent to which
Mugabe rigged the elections has centerd on an elusive document contained in 1958
ring binders and weighing more than two tons — the electoral roll.
In many
areas, particularly ZANU-PF strongholds, the number of registered voters far
exceeded the adult population. “How is this possible?'' asked a political
adviser with strong government links. “ZANU-PF created millions of ghost voters
they then used to swing the elections.''
The government's attempts to block
access to the electoral roll broke into the open in the weeks before the
election when the High Court, on orders from the registrar-general, banned the
publication of an investigation into these discrepancies.
Tobaiwa Mudede, the
registrar and a Mugabe loyalist, accused the group behind the investigation —
the Research and Advocacy Unit — of trying to cause chaos.
A leaked copy of
the group's damning report states that more than two million potential voters
under the age of 30, an age group more likely to vote for the MDC, had been left
off the electoral roll.
The investigation found more than one million dead
people had been registered, along with more than 116,000 people age over 100,
including a 135-year-old army officer. That same electoral roll has about
900,000 duplicate names with identical addresses and dates of birth but
different ID numbers.
The intelligence documents reveal Mugabe hired the
Israeli company to add duplicate names, allowing ZANU-PF supporters to vote many
times in different wards.
The intelligence documents show a member of the
Chinese Communist Party liaised with the Middle Eastern firm and the
registrar-general's office to “neutralize hostile votes'' in urban areas by
under-registering young voters and over-registering older ones.
The documents
show ZANU-PF bought the loyalty of election observers.
The documents state
that “33 percent of the budget will cover regional diplomacy to drum up support
for poll credibility before, during and after elections''.
A Chinese
investor, Sam Pa, who is chairman of one of Zimbabwe's largest diamond mining
operations, provided ZANU-PF with two million campaign T-shirts and other
election regalia.
Another company, which allegedly wants to buy concessions
in the diamond mining sector, provided 500 vehicles to the Mugabe campaign for
“transport and mobilization,'' the files state.
They reveal the extent to
which Mugabe was terrified of losing. “The state of the party at cell and ward
level is compromised and under siege from the enemy,'' the CIO stated. The
documents show China provided Mugabe's government with short-wave jamming
equipment to shut down local radio stations deemed to be pro-MDC.
Fears are
rising that Mugabe's landslide could split the MDC, which held emergency
meetings over the weekend on how to tackle the crisis.
A divided opposition
would further strengthen Mugabe's 33-year rule which, critics say, has been
characterized by crippling economic mismanagement and human rights
abuses.
“Mugabe's now got a license to loot,'' said Paul Collier, director
of the Centre for the Study of African Economies at Oxford University.
(c)
2013 News Limited