Zanu PF MP for Chivi South Ivene Dzingirai has confirmed he had informal discussions with a US Embassy official as alleged in a secret cable released by whistleblower website, WikiLeaks in August.
But Dzingirai, who became the second Zanu PF MP to confess that he discussed sensitive information about the party with the Americans after Tsholotsho North MP Jonathan Moyo, claimed his words were twisted.
According to one of the cables, Dzingirai met Andrew Schulte, a US Embassy official in Harare in 2009 just after the formation of the unity government.
The two allegedly discussed reform elements in Zanu PF and the prospects for co-operation in Parliament between his party and the MDC-T.
Dzingirai said while the information on the cable “is not a complete falsehood,” it was obtained from an informal discussion with the embassy official.
“You cannot say it is a complete falsehood, but the US used my interview to mean what they wanted,” Dzingirai told NewsDay on Sunday.
“They twisted the information and gave a spin to serve their interests.
“To start with, I never met with (US Ambassador James) McGee and my purpose of going to the embassy was not to discuss things mentioned in the cable.
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“I met with the embassy’s Andrew Schulte in a waiting room there as I was processing my visa to go to the US for a cultural exchange trip.
“It was an informal meeting, which neither party had called for or pre-arranged, as it now appears.” In the cable, Dzingirai is alleged to have said the economic and humanitarian crisis facing the country then required a political solution involving Zanu PF and the MDC formations.
“That is not true, I never concurred that Zimbabwe needs a political solution,” he said.
“He asked me about the political situation and I told him that things were bad and everybody else saw it that way.
“He went on to suggest that things were bad because of (President Robert) Mugabe, but I differed and told him that I had not come to discuss such things.”
Asked about his alleged close links with the MDC-T as stated in the cable, Dzingirai said he was quoted out of context. “I was quoted out of context. He asked me about my relationship with Harrison Mudzuri (MDC-T provincial leader for Masvingo),” he said.
“I said I was close to the Mudzuri who is a friend to me, not that I was close to the MDC-T.”
