Wikileaks – What will George Charamba say now?

Wikileaks – What will George Charamba say now?

Clifford Chitupa Mashiri, 08/09/11

After 'Zanu-PF welcomed Wikileaks as propaganda manna', according to Mugabe's spokesman George Charamba in December last year, is it now a case of 'he who laughs most, laughs last'?

In his opinion piece 'Wikileaks- One shame more one gain less,' (New Zimbabwe, 04/12/10), George Charamba writing as Nathaniel Manheru, did not conceal his excitement with his opening lines 'screaming': "WIKILEAKS! WikiLeaks! Oh WikiLeaks!"

That was before Mugabe's propagandist settled down to passionately tear into his MDC opponents, the American Ambassador and everything that was in his way like a bulldozer with supporting quotations from Mexico's armed revolutionary leader, one Zapata and others.

"I am Zanu-PF and the temptation to go for Tsvangirai beckons compellingly," Manheru said, adding: "I want to go back to Wikileaks. Zanu-PF welcomes this as propaganda manna. It should and it must wring out of this hefty disclosure every ounce of propaganda value."

George Charamba did not know what was around the corner. The details are now history. Remember the Shona saying: "Pamudonori ndipo pazvinoda" meaning the one who despises others and brags too much will have his fair share of misfortune one day.

The state-owned media is trying its best to avoid causing further embarrassment amid media reports that the Head of State and Government and Commander-in-Chief of the Zimbabwe Defence Forces Mr Mugabe is said to be seething with anger.

Although, an article on the Herald website yesterday tried to play down the fallout from Wikileaks disclosures, it curiously tried to spin saying the cables might have been made up as Western propaganda.

What is fascinating, though, is that while some people are denying what is being attributed to them in the cables, a Zanu-PF Politburo Member Jonathan Moyo has owned up to what is on one of the cables and reportedly told the New Zimbabwe.com (07.09.11) that:

"It is very clear from the cable that the sanctions issue arose after I queried comments Ambassador Dell had made on SW Radio to the effect that his government was going to add parliamentarians on the sanctions list.

"I told him, as clearly captured in the cable, while I understood their sanctions policy, adding Zanu-PF MPs on the sanctions list when they are not in the politburo or central committee was unfair and inconsistent with the claim that the likes of myself and politburo and central committee members were put on the list as decision makers in the party or government.

"This is what is clearly contained in paragraph 15 of the cable which deals with issue by actually recalling what I said. It is notable that in fact Dell recalls me as having said I 'understood' their sanctions policy and not having said I 'accepted 'it."

While the party faith full may say 'hang on a minute' to that admission, the next question for Jonathan Moyo is why then does he now describe the sanctions as illegal if he understood the sanctions policy as reported in the cable?

With the latest Wikileaks disclosures moving so fast like a tsunami, sucking in Zanu-PF politburo and central committee members among the party's loyalists, what will George Charamba say now?

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Clifford Chitupa Mashiri, Political Analyst, London, zimanalysis2009@gmail.com