The Zimbabwe 2013 Election Rigging Report: Part 2

via The Zimbabwe 2013 Election Rigging Report: Part 2 — Nehanda Radio NOVEMBER 7, 2013 

This is Part 2 of a 54 page dossier exposing how President Robert Mugabe and his Zanu PF party allegedly rigged the July 31 elections in Zimbabwe using a shadowy network of groups and organisations. The report clearly identifies the central players and strategies employed

Mugabe inspecting police guard

This section provides details of the rigging mission, covering all the aspects from structures and organisations that were involved, the strategies and budget.

It further proves how the mechanisms and strategies effectively denied Zimbabweans the opportunity to freely and credibly express their true will in electing their leaders at local governance, parliamentary and presidential level.

TOP STRUCTURE OF RIGGING MACHINERY

The rigging mission was planned and directed right from the top of the Zanu PF system and had the consent, blessing and approval of President Robert Mugabe. He deployed and delegated his trusted lieutenants to spearhead the mission and they continuously reported to him.

Mugabe, for example, directly met leaders and representatives of foreign organisations that were involved in the mission, such as those from Israeli firm, Nikuv Projects and experts that came from China under the facilitation of the Chinese Communist Party.

Mugabe met and hosted Nikuv Projects’ Chief Executive Officer, Emmanuel Antebion June 20 and July 30 in Harare for briefings about the rigging mission as well as payment arrangements for the secret services the company was doing in the rigging mission.

Mugabe delegated senior Zanu PF officials led by EmmersonMnangagwa to supervise and command the whole mission. Others that were involved at the highest level included Sydney Sekeramayi, Saviour Kasukuwere, Webster Shamu, Ignatius Chombo, Kembo Mohadi, Christopher Mushowe, Nicholas Goche and ObertMpofu.

These senior Zanu PF officials constituted the high command that planned and supervised the rigging mission on. The high command was set up in October 2012 when the Zanu PF system resolved to drag the nation into an election and that was after it had convinced itself that the circumstances were best suited for its rigging mission.

The high command formulated the rigging framework and work plan after obtaining information and data from the investigations and assessment carried out by national intelligence teams and Nikuv regarding the national political situation, the mood of voters, possible voting patterns and even projected results.

That is the basis upon which specific targets and objectives were outlined and determined by the high command for each of the country’s provinces.

Intelligence that had been provided to the rigging machinery high command showed them that the MDC would win local governance and parliamentary elections as well as the presidential polls with a clear majority.

Led by Mnangagwa, members of the High Command undertook secret missions to Israel, China, Angola, Central Africa Republic and the DRC for the purposes of obtaining advice as well as facilitate deals for funding of the rigging mission.

The high command constantly monitored the rigging machinery through regular reports that came from the implementing structures and organisations across the country and across the board. Further, Mugabe himself was always kept informed of developments, progress as well as plans through regular updates by Mnangagwa.

 MILITARY & INTELLIGENCE CONTROL

Defence Minister Sidney Sekeremayi addresses a press conference flanked by (from) left Innocent Matibiri, Philip Sibanda, Constantine Chiwenga and Henry Muchena

Below the High Command was the management and implementing committee, which was controlled as well as led by military and intelligence officials.

Air Vice Marshall Henry Muchena, Major General Douglas Nyikayaramba andCentral Intelligence Organisation (CIO) Deputy Director General, Aaron Daniel Tonderai Nhepera led the committee.

The military and intelligence top officials literally ran the rigging machinery and implemented the plans and programmes formulated by the High Command and approved by Mugabe.

As shall be revealed further in this report, the military and intelligence structure was very ubiquitous across the whole electoral organisation and management system and cascaded all the way to the lowest structures.

The military and intelligence structure was charged with ensuring close and tight monitoring as well as supervision of all individuals and organisations variously involved in the rigging mission and keep them within the confines of the plans, objectives and targets.

It is through the involvement of military and intelligence at the very top levels that it was effectively ensured thatvirtually all the electoral management organisations being infiltrated and brought under total control and influence of the secret rigging structure and machinery.

Each and every organisation and structure involved in the running of elections had military and intelligence officials assigned to it who effectively ran the show from behind the scenes and implemented the specific tasks of the rigging machinery.

All plans and programmes that were carried out by all the electoral management organs had to be approved and monitored by the military and intelligence leadership, which had been deployed to work on the rigging mission on a full time basis. That included budgets and even communications which were made by heads of organisations and departments such as the Registrar General’s Office and the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission.

Regular meetings of the management and implementing committee were secretly held during the election period, which included all the organisations and structures involved in the running and conduct of elections.

 RECALLING OF RETIRED OFFICIALS

A total number of 1000 retired senior army and intelligence officials were recalled in June to boost the numbers of those still in service and perform very critical roles in the rigging plan.

The military and intelligence officials were taken through induction in specific strategies and tactics by the hired experts from Israel and China before being deployed across the whole country and at each and every level of the election management and conduct system.

Every structure or team involved in any way in the running of elections had an army or intelligence plant secretly controlling it and directing its operations.

For example, every mobile voter registration team had an intelligence or army plant controlling and directing everything as well as reporting through the secret structures all the way to the top. The same applies for the rest of the structures and departments at the RG’s office and ZEC.

Military and intelligence officials led, controlled and directed operations at the National Elections Command Centre, all provincial command centres, going all the way down to each and every polling station.

Their major task was to ensure that specific plans were implemented, such as disenfranchising voters, allowing ballot stuffing, voting with fake registration slips, enforced assistance voting, multiple voting and also use of the water marked ballot papers.

SECRET MILITARY BASES

The army has been key to keeping Mugabe in power

The rigging machinery set up and operated secret bases at military camps across the whole country, which hosted youth militia for training and execution of various strategies such as marking ballot papers used for ballot stuffing.

Under the supervision and directing of army and intelligence officials, the election rigging units at army bases were well resourced and funded to implement the mission.

Each and every base hosted specific numbers of youth militia for training by the experts in strategies and operated from there to implement various rigging tasks.

Every army base also had secret batches of ballot papers that were delivered two weeks before the day of voting, for the purpose of marking and later use for ballot stuffing. Other election materials such as ink and voters’ roll were also secretly smuggled into these bases for various purposes towards fulfilling the election rigging plans and programmes.

It was established in Harare that the KGV1 was the hub of a secret team which comprised members of Nikuv and military as well intelligence officials that worked with the Registrar General’s Office to doctor and manipulate the voters’ roll for rigging purposes.

Breakdown of major bases across the country; 

*Manyame Air Base (Harare)

*Inkomo Barracks (Harare)

*KGV1 (Harare)

*Brady Barracks (Bulawayo)

*Lliwellin Barracks (Bulawayo)

*Thornhill Air Base (Gweru)

*Mutare 3 Brigade Army Barracks

*Masvingo 4 Brigade Army HQ

The army bases were also used as the provincial and regional command centres for the rigging machinery in the respective areas and hosted coordinating and implementing teams of the secretive structures.

Setting up of the army bases for the rigging machinery started in April 2013 after the Zanu PF high command and management committee of the rigging machinery drew up its framework and work plan.

 ZEC’S ROLE

The national body tasked and mandated with running and conducting elections was reduced to a bystander in the electoral rigging fiasco and merely forced to play the rubber stamping role as the secret structure of military and intelligence officials deployed to implement the rigging mission directed and controlled everything.

Mugabe apologists: ZEC chairperson Justice Rita Makarau and her deputy Mrs Leticia Kazembe update the media

The official structure, led by chairperson, Justice Rita Makarau was virtually rendered useless and forced to follow behind the planted rigging agents.

Three Commissioners provided information in confidentiality and clearly stated that the official ZEC structure totally ceded authority and control of the election planning and conduct to the rigging machinery.

Each and every department at ZEC had plants that controlled and directed all plans and operations in conformity with instructions and guidelines provided from the military and intelligence management committee.

The military and intelligence personnel deployed at ZEC regularly engaged and took instructions from the security chiefs in the management committee, from where plans and programmes for the operations of the electoral body came.

Muchena, Nyikayaramba and Nhepera deployed senior CIO official, Silas Nyanungo to the ZEC headquarters in Harare to assume the role of chief operations officer in a secretive capacity.

Nyanungo set up a system and structure within ZEC that ensured his total control of all the processes, programmes and decisions.

ZEC Commissioners, who were supposed to formulate policy framework and guidelines, were subsequently forced to just watch everything being directed by the invisible hand, leading to a number of them feeling very uncomfortable with that situation.

Three commissioners, whose names are withheld, raised concerns with the chairperson in July, two weeks before the voting day but were met with an unfavourable response as Makarau indicated that she was also in the same predicament of having to be a bystander whilst the invisible hand orchestrated everything.

Information obtained from confidential sources that were involved at ZEC shows beyond any doubt that the body was virtually reduced to a window dresser for the sophisticated rigging machinery and the official structure painstakingly ended up just folding hands and doing nothing about blatant electoral fraud.

On July 15 Makarau, after being pressured by the majority of commissioners, approached the Registrar General, TobaiwaMudede requesting an explanation over the lack of transparency as well as progress in the voter registration and preparation of the voters’ roll following widespread outcry and condemnation of the corrupted process. However, Mudede refused to own up and explain the chaos around voter registration but rather,Makarau was ordered to leave the matter by Muchena.

In addition to virtually being barred from playing its role of monitoring and controlling the voter registration exercise, ZEC’s official structure was also kept in the dark about the process of preparing the voters’ roll, which was being done secretly by the rigging machinery.

Makarau and the rest of commissioners were also kept in the dark about the processes as well as plans behind the printing of ballot papers, again, which was wholly controlled and supervised by the military and intelligence leaders of the rigging machinery.

The ZEC official structure cannot up to now account for the number of ballot papers that were printed, how they were distributed and used. The commissioners were merely given figures to issue out but without at all being allowed to observe, monitor or even take stock of this vital aspect of an election.

The ZEC Commission was forced to take instructions and information from the rigging machinery even on other key aspects of the election such as setting up of polling stations, deployment and vetting of key election officers and a host of other logistical as well as operational gritty-nitties involved on the day of voting. These included the fraudulent use of fake voter registration slips, huge numbers of forced assisted voters and multiple voting.