HARARE – Vice presidents Emmerson Mnangagwa and Phelekezela Mphoko are under surveillance by the Central Intelligence Organisation (CIO) because of statements they made in recent weeks.
Mnangagwa headed the national security portfolio in the 1980s and Mphoko worked under him. Both are believed to enjoy strong links with the spy agency – but now the tables are turned and they are being watched.
Inside sources told The Zimbabwean that Mnangagwa and Mphoko had been discussed twice in their morning briefings recently as the CIO is concerned by their statements regarding Gukurahundi and President Robert Mugabe’s decision to keep former Rhodesian security chiefs in their positions after independence.
The spies suspect that the two are involved in a plot to tarnish Mugabe’s image regarding Gukurahundi, in an attempt to absolve themselves from blame for the massacres.
Mphoko first appeared on the front page of the government-controlled Sunday Mail a month ago, claiming that Rhodesian intelligence agents worked with the British and then apartheid South Africa governments to set Zanu (PF) and Zapu against each other to destabilise and discredit the new black government.
He said they claimed that Zapu was planning a war against Mugabe’s government, torching the Gukurahundi massacres that led to more than 20,000 civilian deaths.
Mnangagwa then appeared on the front page in the next edition remarking that he was surprised that Mugabe unilaterally decided to keep the heads of intelligence, the army and police who had worked under Ian Smith’s Rhodesian Front government.
The senior VP said in an interview that after the 1980 elections and just before power was handed over, Mugabe instructed him to call Peter Walls, in charge of the army, Ken Flower (Intelligence) and police commissioner Peter Allum and retained them in their positions. Mugabe reportedly did so without consulting his inner circle.
“It seems the two VPs have a sinister motive. Their interviews with the newspaper appear to have been rehearsed. There is a common thread. Both men home in on Rhodesian agents and it looks as though the message is that HE (His Excellency) made a poor choice by retaining them and is therefore responsible for Gukurahundi,” said a senior CIO officer.
Mnangagwa has been partly blamed for the massacres as he headed the intelligence service at the time, while Mphoko worked under him.
“ED (initials for Mnangagwa) has the ambition to take over from the president and he knows that he needs to appear clean in the eyes of the public, even though it will be a hard task. This could explain this plot with VP Mphoko,” added the second source.
Neither VP could be reached for comment.
The sources said it was unlikely that Mugabe would act soon. “Typically he will keep the information and use it at an appropriate time. They might be placed under close surveillance,” said one of the sources.
Mugabe’s long stay in power is partly attributed to his capacity to use the secret service to feed him with information on a regular basis, which he then uses to set the factions in his party against each other.
In 2004, Mnangagwa’s attempts to wrest the party’s presidium was reportedly exposed by security agents loyal to a rival faction now known as the Mujuru camp. In turn, Mujuru is said to have been exposed by those aligned to Mnangagwa. The Zimbabwean
