News / National
CIO rocked by foreign intelligence agents infiltrations
02 Jul 2012 at 05:25hrs | Views
Zimbabwe`s dreaded spy agency, the Central Intelligence Organisation (CIO) is reportedly rocked by a wave of purges on it`s operatives suspected of doubling up for the Mossad, Israel`s intelligence arm, throwing Robert Mugabe's led coalition government into quandary, The Zimbabwe Mail can exclusively reveal.
According to briefings from intelligence sources, Mugabe is furious with divisions and foreign infiltrations in the key national security branch amid fears the Mossad has numerous moles that have been secretly fomenting destabilisation of the octogenarian leader's power, by supplying sensitive information to Israel and a sheaf of Western governments including Britain.
The top echelons of the CIO have ordered what is believed to be a covert operation, code named "Operation Muchombi Ndiani?", which is the native Shona language for "Who is the traitor and sell-out among us?".
The development has resulted in a major shake-up of the organisation, including an embargo on the supply of "real" intelligence to Prime minister, Morgan Tsvangirai whom the CIO has ratcheted up surveillance efforts following a discreet meeting he held in May in Austria with General Wesley Clark, a former commander of the US Supreme Allied Nato forces in Europe.
Tsvangirai's meeting with Clark has sent shivers running down the spine of Harare, who fear for a possible Nato intervention should the anticipated presidential elections result in blood violence and rigging.
Israel is one of the biggest diamond dealers after China in the country's controversial Marange diamonds believed to be worth some US$800 billion. Tel Aviv has also in the past sold state of the art heavy anti-riot control equipment to Zimbabwe. The Jet Pulse Water Cannon system has been used to crush opposition demonstrations, and is also used by police as a show of force during electioneering.
It is widely believed that the Mossad managed to infiltrate Mugabe's CIO sometime around the year 2000 through Ari Ben Menashe, an alleged Israeli agent presently residing in Canada where he works as a political consultant.
Menashe was at the centre of an alleged assassination plot conspiracy, which almost cost Morgan Tsvangirai his political career in 2003 after dubious treason charges were preferred against him for wanting to eliminate Mugabe. Tsvangirai now claims Menashe set him up, and that he had been doing business with the CIO, while at the same time offering political consultancy to the MDC only to turn against them in favour of Mugabe.
So serious are the purges that some agents have fled the country into neighbouring South Africa , with some having managed to secure political asylum in the United Kingdom recently.
The Zimbabwe Mail has it on good authority that four of the children belonging to, the late deputy director general of the agency, Menrad Muzariri are now in the save havens of Britain where they have been granted asylum.
The four siblings declined State sponsored air tickets, to fly back home following the death of their father last year after he succumbed to a "short illness" thus raising eye-brows.
Another top operative of the CIO Philip Machemedze was also granted asylum in London last year, despite confessing to murder and the maiming of opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) supporters.
"The reprisals are terrifying," said an intelligence officer operating at the CIO's Chaminuka building in Harare . "Many comrades including the late deputy director general are facing serious allegations of having been compromised by the Mossad thus facing imminent expulsion and punishment from the agency.
Operation Muchombi ndiani is a fierce campaign to uproot double agents, and this is why you see a new military and intelligence academy being established so as to make new natianal security recruits loyal, under the auspieces of The Robert Mugabe Intelligence Academy being overseen by defence minister Emmerson Mnagagwa."
Mnangagwa himself accused in the past of of having British MI5 Intelligence links, which he denies was the head of Zimbabwe's intelligence apparatus at Independence in 1980.
The agent supplying this information who preferred to be called Andrew, also made the startling revelation that Mugabe is seething with anger that the CIO failed to stop his former finance minister and Zanu-PF politburo member, Simba Makoni from challenging him for the presidency in 2008, because some them were on the payroll of Israel and Britain.
It is also believed that an outspoken senior Zanu-PF Politburo member is also working with foreign intelligence agencies and in recent weeks he was invited for a Western embassy event in Harare and he went with some CIO agents he introduced to foreign intelligence agencies operatives.
According to briefings from intelligence sources, Mugabe is furious with divisions and foreign infiltrations in the key national security branch amid fears the Mossad has numerous moles that have been secretly fomenting destabilisation of the octogenarian leader's power, by supplying sensitive information to Israel and a sheaf of Western governments including Britain.
The top echelons of the CIO have ordered what is believed to be a covert operation, code named "Operation Muchombi Ndiani?", which is the native Shona language for "Who is the traitor and sell-out among us?".
The development has resulted in a major shake-up of the organisation, including an embargo on the supply of "real" intelligence to Prime minister, Morgan Tsvangirai whom the CIO has ratcheted up surveillance efforts following a discreet meeting he held in May in Austria with General Wesley Clark, a former commander of the US Supreme Allied Nato forces in Europe.
Tsvangirai's meeting with Clark has sent shivers running down the spine of Harare, who fear for a possible Nato intervention should the anticipated presidential elections result in blood violence and rigging.
Israel is one of the biggest diamond dealers after China in the country's controversial Marange diamonds believed to be worth some US$800 billion. Tel Aviv has also in the past sold state of the art heavy anti-riot control equipment to Zimbabwe. The Jet Pulse Water Cannon system has been used to crush opposition demonstrations, and is also used by police as a show of force during electioneering.
It is widely believed that the Mossad managed to infiltrate Mugabe's CIO sometime around the year 2000 through Ari Ben Menashe, an alleged Israeli agent presently residing in Canada where he works as a political consultant.
Menashe was at the centre of an alleged assassination plot conspiracy, which almost cost Morgan Tsvangirai his political career in 2003 after dubious treason charges were preferred against him for wanting to eliminate Mugabe. Tsvangirai now claims Menashe set him up, and that he had been doing business with the CIO, while at the same time offering political consultancy to the MDC only to turn against them in favour of Mugabe.
So serious are the purges that some agents have fled the country into neighbouring South Africa , with some having managed to secure political asylum in the United Kingdom recently.
The Zimbabwe Mail has it on good authority that four of the children belonging to, the late deputy director general of the agency, Menrad Muzariri are now in the save havens of Britain where they have been granted asylum.
The four siblings declined State sponsored air tickets, to fly back home following the death of their father last year after he succumbed to a "short illness" thus raising eye-brows.
Another top operative of the CIO Philip Machemedze was also granted asylum in London last year, despite confessing to murder and the maiming of opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) supporters.
"The reprisals are terrifying," said an intelligence officer operating at the CIO's Chaminuka building in Harare . "Many comrades including the late deputy director general are facing serious allegations of having been compromised by the Mossad thus facing imminent expulsion and punishment from the agency.
Operation Muchombi ndiani is a fierce campaign to uproot double agents, and this is why you see a new military and intelligence academy being established so as to make new natianal security recruits loyal, under the auspieces of The Robert Mugabe Intelligence Academy being overseen by defence minister Emmerson Mnagagwa."
Mnangagwa himself accused in the past of of having British MI5 Intelligence links, which he denies was the head of Zimbabwe's intelligence apparatus at Independence in 1980.
The agent supplying this information who preferred to be called Andrew, also made the startling revelation that Mugabe is seething with anger that the CIO failed to stop his former finance minister and Zanu-PF politburo member, Simba Makoni from challenging him for the presidency in 2008, because some them were on the payroll of Israel and Britain.
It is also believed that an outspoken senior Zanu-PF Politburo member is also working with foreign intelligence agencies and in recent weeks he was invited for a Western embassy event in Harare and he went with some CIO agents he introduced to foreign intelligence agencies operatives.
Source - zimbabwe mail
