Zimbabwe intelligence organisation warns Robert Mugabe

THE Central Intelligence Organisation (CIO) recently presented an adverse report to President Robert Mugabe, underlining the gravity of the worsening economic and social crisis afflicting the country.

The CIO recommended to Mugabe to urgently find ways to address the political crisis, at the root of the multi-faceted national crisis.

The News Leader can exclusively reveal that the central intelligence unit recently submitted key reports to Mugabe, which focused on the state of national security.

It is in the same batch of reports that, as revealed by The News Leader last month, the CIO revealed identities of several individuals implicated in the controversial fFacebookmole, operating as Baba Jukwa, including members of the Zanu PF system.

This week we obtained information about the warning that was sounded to Mugabe over the worsening national situation – which is symbolic of a ticking time bomb.

Top intelligence sources revealed to us that the CIO report described the national situation as 'uncertain and highly risky'.

The intelligence highlighted the precarious circumstances caused by the negative economic trends and developments, such as massive company closures and job losses.

'The report unequivocally describes the economic situation as having already become a huge risk,' an impeccable source said. The source added that CIO submitted to Mugabe that the risk and threat for social discontent, which could result in protests, is very high. A different source within the Mugabe administration corroborated what our sources revealed to have been analysed and concluded in the intelligence report.

'The matter of the risk and threat to national security emanating from the economic situation has come to the fore recently and serious deliberations held by the security chiefs and the leadership,' the government official said.

Minister of state responsible for security, Didymus Mutasa said it is normal and regular for the security organs to review the situation, but he declined to discuss the CIO report. 'I don't discuss issues of that nature in the media but reviewing the security situation is a normal and regular task of the responsible organs,' he said.  Former Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai recently described the economic crisis as a 'high security risk'.

The News Leader also has it on good authority that the Mugabe regime has also been warned about the uncertainty in military camps, as the economic situation gnaws at the provision of welfare and service by the regime. In addition to disgruntlement over stagnated low salaries, members of the uniformed forces are exposed to crisis of lack and shortages in barracks and camps, with some being sent on forced leave.

We visited the KGV1 army base in Harare and established that the situation is edgy.

Genuine fears abound among the Zanu PF regime's leadership, of protests being sparked from the military camps, reminscent of 2008 when groups of soldiers went on the rampage in various parts of the country, attacking civilians and destroying property.

The nation is grappling with massive economic deflation, coupled with capital flight, as both the local and international markets continue to lose confidence in the country's political leadership.

The primary source of the current national crisis is the disputed overwhelming win which was declared by Zanu PF at last year's elections.

The opposition rejected the outcome, amidst blatant irregularities and shortcomings in the conduct of the polls. That precipitated massive capital flight, with over US$1 billion being spirited out of Zimbabwe within two months. The Zimbabwe Congress of Trade Unions says 450 jobs are being lost every week in the very fragile economy, meaning the unemployment rate having exceeded 90%.