Mugabe, Tsvangirai 'differ sharply' over dinner

Mugabe, Tsvangirai 'differ sharply' over dinner

DINNER DATE: Mugabe and Tsvangirai differed sharply in private talks

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By Torby Chimhashu

ZIMBABWEAN President Robert Mugabe met his main political opponent Morgan Tsvangirai over dinner for close to two hours on Monday at the end of their public signing of a memorandum of understanding which opens the way for power sharing talks, New Zimbabwe.com can reveal.

Sources said the two men met after South African President Thabo Mbeki – mediating between Zimbabwe’s major political parties to find a solution to a decade long crisis – advised them to have a one-to-one chat while he took Arthur Mutambara, leader of a smaller faction of the MDC, to dinner.

Monday’s meeting between Zanu PF leader Robert Mugabe and Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) leader Morgan Tsvangirai was the first in a decade – emphasising the deep-seated political polarisation in Zimbabwe.

A diplomatic source said: “President Mbeki felt the two men needed to unload on each other, away from the media. So he went over to President Mugabe and said ‘I’m taking Arthur to dinner, you two (Mugabe and Tsvangirai) are the ones with issues. Go and talk, let’s see if you can iron out your differences.”

The four leaders met again after their dinner, our source said, at which point President Mbeki asked if they had reached any understanding.

“Mugabe just said ‘Tsvangirai will report back’ and he was not heard from again. Tsvangirai’s report was not encouraging. It was clear he had been overpowered,” our source said. “Tsvangirai told President Mbeki that he had assured Mugabe that he was his own man, and not a British puppet as he is constantly labelled.”

The MDC leader reported that they had also differed sharply over the validity of the June 27 presidential election run-off which Mugabe won by a landslide following Tsvangirai’s withdrawal, citing violence against his supporters. Over 100 MDC activists were reported killed between March 29 and June 27.

“Tsvangirai told President Mbeki that Mugabe had said there would be no negotiation over his legitimacy. Mugabe told the MDC leader he was head of state, and head of government and the MDC would be accommodated in a government headed by him.”

Tsvangirai, who edged Mugabe in the first round of voting on March 29 but without the necessary majority required by law to be declared outright winner, insists on a transitional government which takes into consideration the results of March 29.

Mugabe is also said to have been particularly critical of the role of former white farmers in the MDC, singling out Roy Bennett, the MDC’s treasurer now based in South Africa, for driving the anti-Zimbabwe lobby and advocating sanctions against the country.

Negotiators from Zanu PF and the two MDC formations were gathering in Johannesburg on Tuesday to begin “an intense programme of work” during which a power sharing mechanism is set to dominate the discussions.

Professor Welshman Ncube and Priscilla Misihairabwi-Mushonga from the Mutambara MDC faction arrived in Pretoria on Tuesday, and Zanu PF negotiators Nicholas Goche and Patrick Chinamasa, together with officials from Tsvangirai’s MDC faction – Tendai Biti and Elton Mangoma -- were expected to arrive on Wednesday. Talks should begin at some stage on Wednesday and are primed to last two weeks.

The parties are under pressure from the African Union, the Southern African Development Community and United Nations to agree a power sharing deal and begin work on reviving the country's economy and promoting political tolerance -- leading up to a new round of free and fair elections.
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