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Zanu-PF ready for elections:
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“This is not a Commission of Inquiry, but a panel of experts whose recommendations will
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“The relevant authorities should act and, as AG, I am taking the first step to establish
whether there is a prima facie to cause a formal investigation by police."

The panel will make recommendations that could lead to the prosecution of those
involved in discussions with US embassy staff in Harare, Zimbabwe.

The five-member panel, consisting of some of the country's top legal minds, is already at
work but cannot be named due to the sensitivities around the cables, some of which, it is
feared, may have harmed the country's national security.

http://www.talkzimbabwe.com/attorney-general-sets-up-wikileaks-probe-panel-cms-1077[1/16/2011 11:58:29 PM]

The Zimbabwe Guardian

The panel can also not be named to protect its professional integrity and to assure its
independence.

AG Tomana last Friday told the weekly that he had already communicated with the
members of the panel and they are already busy at work.

“I have invoked Section 76 Sub-section 5 of the Constitution and the panel is already in
place. It consists of five top practising lawyers who are members of the Law Society of
Zimbabwe.

“I am seeking a professional legal opinion from registered lawyers to see whether there is
need to prosecute anyone following revelations by the WikiLeaks website.

“People should understand that this is a serious matter and these experts should be
accorded the right to work privately. After their recommendations, I will then decide
whether there is need to open a docket against anyone,” said the Attorney General.

He said he expected the panel to give him the first report by the end of March, although
the experts will work until the assessment of the more than 3,000 cables on Zimbabwe.
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The focus of the panel will not only be restricted to the 3 000 cables on Zimbabwe but will
also cover even cables from other countries around the world that dealt with Zimbabwe
like Morocco, South Africa, Europe, Australia, New Zealand, Russia and China.

One of the crucial matters the panel will look into is the sanctions issue,  where
politicians, businesspeople, non-governmental organisations and some media houses
collaborated with hostile foreign governments and institutions threatening the country’s
national interest.

One member of the panel told The Sunday Mail that their duty is to assess whether any
current statutes were violated and to recommend prosecution or not.

“The fact that there has been these WikiLeaks revelations and no prosecution has been
done so far doesn't mean that no crime was committed.

"We will try to see where the law was violated and where we think that the law is
inadequate, we will make recommendations and where there is a vacuum, we will also
suggest how to tighten our laws,” said a member of the panel to TSM.

It is understood that the panel will work with ICT technical experts and will not wait for the
cables to be released but access them even if they are not released. The first report is
likely to deal with the cables that have been released already.

The AG’s action comes at a time when most governments around the world have
instituted the same measures to assess the impact of the WikiLeaks revelations.

In the US, the Attorney-General is looking at the threat posed by the cables while the US
Congress has set a motion for investigating WikiLeaks to see if enough was done to
protect American interests.

“Zimbabwe is among the top 10 in terms of the numbers of the cables and it would be
foolish for the Government not to institute measures for prosecution considering that
most affected countries are doing the same,” said a lecturer from the UZ legal
department.

American embassy cables leaked by the WikiLeaks website have revealed US policy on
different countries.

In one of the cables dated July 13 2007, former American Ambassador to Zimbabwe Mr
Christopher Dell confirms that his government has been working with the MDC-T to
effect regime change in Zimbabwe.

He said the party was not an ideal conduit as it lacked able leaders. He, however, added
that although its leader, Mr Morgan Tsvangirai, needed “massive hand-holding”, he was
useful for American purposes in the country.

The cable also revealed that Mr Tsvangirai would appear to be against the Western-
imposed sanctions against Zimbabwe, but back the same embargo in private meetings.

In another cable, a Zanu-PF official identified as Mudarikwa was said to have told US
Ambassador to Zimbabwe Mr Charles Ray that his party “was holding together because
of the threat of MDC-T and foreign pressure”.

http://www.talkzimbabwe.com/attorney-general-sets-up-wikileaks-probe-panel-cms-1077[1/16/2011 11:58:29 PM]

The Zimbabwe Guardian

The official also reportedly likened Zanu-PF to a stick of explosives which was
susceptible to ignition

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Tags: Johannes Tomana, panel of legal experts, President Mugabe, WikiLeaks, Zanu-PF, Zimbabwe lawyers, Zimbabwe
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