News / National
US spy wants to attend Zanu-PF Congress
30 Nov 2014 at 13:03hrs | Views
The United States Embassy in Harare wants outed CIA spy Mr Eric Ryan Little to attend Zanu-PF's National Congress, it has emerged.
Sources told The Sunday Mail that Zanu-PF secretary for administration Didymus Mutasa - in line with the party's tradition - formally invited a host of guests to the quinquennial gathering.
Among the guests are diplomats, former liberation movement representatives, war veterans and collaborators, ex-detainees and student representatives.
US Ambassador Mr Bruce Wharton accepted the invitation, telling Mutasa's office that he would attend alongside Mr Little, the embassy's official second secretary (parliamentary affairs).
It is understood Zanu-PF officials privy to the 30-year-old spy's links with some senior party members are wary of his intentions and want him barred.
The Congress opens on Thursday.
A source said, "The letters did go out to embassies, including the United States Embassy. The Ambassador indicated that he wanted to bring Little to Congress, and that is unacceptable by any standard. We are aware of how he has been trying to access party information through MPs.
"Bringing him to Congress appears to be an attempt to make light of information that has been publicised about him and how he has been working with MPs covertly. He is recalcitrant because he met more MPs despite his under-cover operations having been exposed."
Another source added: "There are indications that the invitation letters sent out to the embassies were open-ended. Authorities are working on a new format that allows only one diplomat per embassy to attend. It will either be the Ambassador or Charge d'Affaires."
The US government dispatched Mr Little to Zimbabwe in July 2013 under an elaborate plot to get Members of Parliament to pass a vote of no confidence on President Mugabe.
Investigations show that his brief fed into a two-phased strategy that also included challenging Zanu-PF's First Secretary and President at this week's Congress.
Since arriving, he has attended numerous parliamentary sessions to "talent spot" gullible MPs willing to be drafted into the plan.
Dangling constituency development assistance as bait, Mr Little has met Cdes Temba Mliswa, Simbaneuta Mudarikwa, Amos Midzi, Paul Mavhima, David Butau, Beatrice Nyamupinga, Enias Damani Diamonds Mumvuri and Daniel Mckenzie Ncube.
He also met Cdes Ladislus Ndoro, Tendai Makunde, Byton Mike Musaka, Joseph Mapiki and Christopher Mutematsaka, as well as MDC-T's James Maridadi, Eddie Cross, Willas Madzimure and Reggie Moyo.
In meetings with Zanu-PF legislators, he shuttled between development assistance and national governance issues, and inquired whether President Mugabe would be challenged at Congress and about the succession matrix.
He attended Zanu-PF's 2013 National People's Conference in Chinhoyi and State events which he used as cover to further engage his targets and link up with other MPs.
On November 4, US assistant secretary of state (African affairs) Mrs Linda Thomas-Greenfield made a tacit admission that Washington was working with some Zimbabwean Government officials to oust President Mugabe.
She said this at George Washington University in the US, according to Telescope News website, which quoted her saying Washington was already preparing for a "post-Mugabe" dispensation.
In addition, she revealed that the plot entailed blocking First Lady Dr Grace Mugabe's ascendancy in Zanu-PF.
The US Embassy has previously declined commenting, saying it does not discuss "diplomatic activities" in the media.
Sources told The Sunday Mail that Zanu-PF secretary for administration Didymus Mutasa - in line with the party's tradition - formally invited a host of guests to the quinquennial gathering.
Among the guests are diplomats, former liberation movement representatives, war veterans and collaborators, ex-detainees and student representatives.
US Ambassador Mr Bruce Wharton accepted the invitation, telling Mutasa's office that he would attend alongside Mr Little, the embassy's official second secretary (parliamentary affairs).
It is understood Zanu-PF officials privy to the 30-year-old spy's links with some senior party members are wary of his intentions and want him barred.
The Congress opens on Thursday.
A source said, "The letters did go out to embassies, including the United States Embassy. The Ambassador indicated that he wanted to bring Little to Congress, and that is unacceptable by any standard. We are aware of how he has been trying to access party information through MPs.
"Bringing him to Congress appears to be an attempt to make light of information that has been publicised about him and how he has been working with MPs covertly. He is recalcitrant because he met more MPs despite his under-cover operations having been exposed."
Another source added: "There are indications that the invitation letters sent out to the embassies were open-ended. Authorities are working on a new format that allows only one diplomat per embassy to attend. It will either be the Ambassador or Charge d'Affaires."
The US government dispatched Mr Little to Zimbabwe in July 2013 under an elaborate plot to get Members of Parliament to pass a vote of no confidence on President Mugabe.
Investigations show that his brief fed into a two-phased strategy that also included challenging Zanu-PF's First Secretary and President at this week's Congress.
Since arriving, he has attended numerous parliamentary sessions to "talent spot" gullible MPs willing to be drafted into the plan.
Dangling constituency development assistance as bait, Mr Little has met Cdes Temba Mliswa, Simbaneuta Mudarikwa, Amos Midzi, Paul Mavhima, David Butau, Beatrice Nyamupinga, Enias Damani Diamonds Mumvuri and Daniel Mckenzie Ncube.
He also met Cdes Ladislus Ndoro, Tendai Makunde, Byton Mike Musaka, Joseph Mapiki and Christopher Mutematsaka, as well as MDC-T's James Maridadi, Eddie Cross, Willas Madzimure and Reggie Moyo.
In meetings with Zanu-PF legislators, he shuttled between development assistance and national governance issues, and inquired whether President Mugabe would be challenged at Congress and about the succession matrix.
He attended Zanu-PF's 2013 National People's Conference in Chinhoyi and State events which he used as cover to further engage his targets and link up with other MPs.
On November 4, US assistant secretary of state (African affairs) Mrs Linda Thomas-Greenfield made a tacit admission that Washington was working with some Zimbabwean Government officials to oust President Mugabe.
She said this at George Washington University in the US, according to Telescope News website, which quoted her saying Washington was already preparing for a "post-Mugabe" dispensation.
In addition, she revealed that the plot entailed blocking First Lady Dr Grace Mugabe's ascendancy in Zanu-PF.
The US Embassy has previously declined commenting, saying it does not discuss "diplomatic activities" in the media.
Source - Sunday Mail
