Goche said Makoni was a coward

Former Public Service Minister Nicholas Goche, currently Minister of Transport, said he did not believe that Simba Makoni could challenge President Robert Mugabe in the 2008 elections because he was a coward.

According to recently leaked US diplomatic cables Goche told the United States ambassador to Zimbabwe James McGee that Zanu PF was entering the 2008 elections as a united party.

Referring to reports that Simba Makoni would lead an anti-Mugabe movement either within the party or as a “third way,” Goche stated that Makoni was a “coward” who talked big to the press but remained silent at party meetings.

Makoni however did leave Zanu PF and contested the 2008 presidential election as an independent candidate. He later formed his Mavambo/Kusile/Dawn party.

Meanwhile in his briefings with the US ambassador, Goche also acknowledged that there was significant corruption within Zanu PF.

The Ambassador’s meeting took place at the home of Fred Mutanda, the president of the American Business Association of Zimbabwe, whose business dealings include ownership of local Western Union and Volkswagen franchises.

The meeting was friendly, and began with a discussion of the Washington Redskins, whom Goche rooted for after opening up the Zimbabwean Embassy in Washington as a junior diplomat in 1980.

The Ambassador told Goche he wanted to meet one-on-one with Mugabe to deliver a personal message to Mugabe.

Referring to a prior meeting the Ambassador had had with Minister for Lands and State Security Didymus Mutasa and CIO Director Happyton Bonyongwe, Goche said they were obstructionist and had recommended against a meeting between the Ambassador and Mugabe.

Goche said he himself thought dialogue was important and he would attempt to facilitate such a meeting. He even questioned why the U.S. had refused to deal with Mugabe, while engaging African despots such as Sudan’s Bashir.

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