The former Zimbabwean consul-general to South Africa, Godfrey Dzvairo, was the ringleader of a network of Zimbabwean spies that has been selling confidential Zanu-PF documents, including minutes of the party’s supreme organ — the Politburo — to the South African government.
The intelligence, gathered by a senior South African Secret Service operative, was used to inform President Thabo Mbeki’s policy and tactic in Zimbabwe.
Constitutional law lecturer Dr Lovemore Madhuku said he wasn’t shocked Mbeki was spying on Mugabe. ”He was quietly studying the inner workings of Zanu-PF, its policies and politics. It has always been Mbeki’s intention to replace Mugabe without replacing Zanu-PF. That explains why his intelligence was rooted in Zanu-PF not government.”
Alois Masepe, a political analyst based at the University of Zimbabwe, said espionage is widely accepted as part of diplomatic business and only becomes a problem if you are caught. ”South Africa would want to know the political and economic intentions and activities of its neighbour. Whatever Zimbabwe does has an immediate impact on South Africans. When your neighbour’s house is on fire your property is at stake.”
Zimbabwean intelligence sources said Dzvairo, who was based in South Africa since 1994, had been under surveillance for more than a decade. ”We had no tangible evidence to prove that he was involved in any dirty work, hence his appointment in November last year as ambassador to Mozambique.”
But they had nonetheless bugged Dzvairo’s telephone and took interest in his conversations with former Metropolitan Bank of Zimbabwe company secretary Tendayi Matambanadzo, with whom he had studied law at the University of Zimbabwe in the 1980s.
The banker’s phone was also tapped. He is a relative of the wife of Zanu-PF Mashonaland West provincial chairperson and central committee member Philip Chiyangwa, whom he brought on board the spy ring. Chiyangwa in turn recruited Zanu-PF director of external affairs Itayi Marchi — often tasked with taking minutes at Politburo meetings — and party security officer Kenneth Karidza.
Zimbabwe’s Central Intelligence Organisation (CIO) monitored the activities of the men who had frequent meetings at a four-star hotel in Victoria Falls during November and December last year. On one occasion, sources said, ”They booked
a room that they did not use for three days. On the fourth day they regrouped and all their conversations were recorded.”
The name of the South African operative featured prominently. He was arrested in a sting operation when the CIO head of counter intelligence lured him into Zimbabwe. ”He cracked under pressure and started singing, releasing five names,” sources said.
Also implicated in the spy wrangle is Erasmus Moyo, the Zimbabwean diplomat in Geneva, Switzerland, who evaded arrest after allegedly boarding a flight to Harare.
The five Zimbabweans — Marchi, Karidza, Chiyangwa, Dzvairo and Matambanadzo — were subsequently arrested and, according to their lawyers, subjected to torture.
Marchi was arrested at Harare International airport and taken to the infamous Goromonzi CIO torture chambers, about 34km east of the capital, where he allegedly ”spilled the beans”.
Sources said Karidza is in a critical condition, unable to walk or eat as a result of the interrogation. ”Karidza is a war veteran who is difficult to break down, he is very tough.”
Dzvairo, Karidza and Matambanadzo’s application to have their initial guilty pleas altered was thrown out by the magistrate’s court last week. Their lawyer Selby Hwacha has since appealed the ruling. If convicted, they face jail terms of up to 20 years or a fine or both.
During his first appearance at the magistrate’s court, Chiyangwa told the court through his lawyer Canaan Dube that he was blindfolded and taken to an unknown destination and tortured for seven days until he had a ”mild stroke”. Harare had been abuzz with rumour that Chiyangwa had died.
Chiyangwa and the four others only passed on ”party secrets not state secrets, that’s the sticking point”, a source said. ”Party minutes contained deliberations between the president and his Cabinet at party level. Such information would then be tabled at government level.”
In his submission to the high court last week, Chiyangwa’s advocate, Chris Anderson, said: ”It was impossible to infer South Africa as an enemy of Zimbabwe considering the relationship between the two countries.”
Chiyangwa, who backed Speaker Emmerson Mnangagwa’s failed bid for the Zanu-PF vice-presidency, is reported to have received a $10 000 monthly retainer from his South African handler.
The spy saga could be hugely embarrassing to the South African government. Madhuku said ”Mbeki’s preoccupation was ‘Will Mugabe step down?’ He has been dealing with young Turks in Zanu-PF, not anybody senior because he knew the future belonged to them.
He spoke to [Justice Minister] Patrick Chinamasa, who was spearheading the inter-party dialogue [with the opposition Movement for Democratic Change] and Mnangagwa, who was their preferred choice in the succession race.
South Africa wanted to surprise the world with a deal that would see Mugabe’s exit.”