Central Intelligence Organization

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The Central Intelligence Organization ( CIO ; German  about: "Zentrale Nachrichtenorganisation" ) is the national secret service of Zimbabwe .

It was founded in 1963 on the instructions of Winston Fields , Prime Minister of the British colony of Southern Rhodesia , after the dissolution of the Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland . He succeeded the Federal Intelligence and Security Bureau , which coordinated the policing of the British South Africa Police with Northern Rhodesia and Nyasaland .

When it was founded, the CIO formed the civil intelligence service and the counterpart to the military Rhodesian Intelligence Corps .

The first director-general of the intelligence service Central Intelligence Organization (CIO) was the British-born Ken Flower , who headed the organization from 1963 to 1981. South Africa's intelligence agents had good working relationships with him. Derrick Robinson was in charge of domestic intelligence at the time. Both were considered insecure double agents in the politics of the time due to their past in the system of government of Prime Minister Ian Smith .

The CIO was particularly active during the unilateral independence of South Rhodesia between 1965 and 1979. It was involved in espionage affairs and the infiltration of guerrilla movements. She was accused of being responsible for the 1975 attack on Herbert Chitepo in Lusaka .

Since 1980 the CIO has been “Africanized”. The workforce now consisted increasingly of former Rhodesian secret service employees, former ZANLA employees ( Zimbabwe African National Liberation Army ) and a small group of former ZIPRA actors ( Zimbabwe People's Revolutionary Army ). South Africa was trying to recruit CIO staff at the time to gather information and prepare subversive activities. This recruiting was successful in two cases. Another incident received international attention. Three SADF soldiers were killed by Zimbabwean security forces in Sengwe parish while attempting to rescue political prisoners. The governments of both countries made public statements.

The CIO participated in the repression of the Matabele in the 1980s, and is believed to have been involved in the repression of Mugabe's opponents in the 1990s and 2000s. She is charged with covering up torture in the 2000s.

staff

In 1980 the President of Zimbabwe , Robert Mugabe , first confirmed Ken Flower as head of the service, renamed the Zimbabwe Central Intelligence Organization (ZCIO) at the time. The 1980 appointed Minister for Intelligence Emmerson Mnangagwa (1980 to 1988) left Flower in a responsible position of the CIO because he needed an experienced manager for the restructuring that had begun. Mnangagwa's influence acted as CIO leadership for some time. During this time, the inclusion of intelligence agents from ZIPRA and ZANLA resulted in rival effects.

In the mid-1990s, Shadreck Chipanga was General Manager of the CIO. Lovemore Mukandi acted as his deputy. Both leadership styles created a long internal conflict. Mugabe retired in 1998. Successors were Elisha Muzonzini (General Manager) and Happyton Bonyongwe (Deputy). In 2003 Mugabe dismissed Muzonzini and replaced him with his previous deputy.

The former Major-General Happyton Mabhuya Bonyongwe was the long-time director of the secret service . He gave up the office in 2017 to take on a cabinet role as Minister of Justice, Legal and Parliamentary Affairs . Until the appointment of a new General Director, Aaron Nhepera was acting as head of the department.

His deputy is Albert Miles Ngulube, who was a senior official in the President's Department under Robert Mugabe and who is also responsible for the personal protection of him and his personal environment. In November 2017, while he was near Mugabe, he was arrested at the instigation of besieging military units, physically abused when arrested, but later released.

In early December 2017, Zimbabwean President Emmerson Mnangagwa appointed former diplomat Isaac Moyo as the new Director General of the CIO. In the past, Moyo was able to gain international experience in intelligence matters from Addis Ababa . At the African Union , he worked for the Committee of Intelligence and Security Service in Africa as Executive Secretary. Then he was appointed ambassador to Zimbabwe for South Africa and Lesotho .

literature

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Zimbabwe Watch: Intelligence profile: Zimbabwe . Entry from July 3, 2003 on www.cvni.net (English)
  2. a b Niël Barnard : Secret Revolution. Memoirs of a Spy Boss. Tafelberg, 2015, pp. 120-121 ISBN 9780624074571
  3. ^ Robin Palmer: Rhodesia into Zimbabwe, 1964 to 1981 . Book review of Serving Secretly. An Intelligence Chief on Record: Rhodesia into Zimbabwe, 1964 to 1981. In: African Affairs , Vol. 87, Issue 348, July 1, 1988, pp. 465-466.
  4. ^ A b c d Zimbabwe Independent: Zimbabwe: Cio - a History of Politicization, Division and Internal Suspicion . Announcement of the Zimbabwe Independent from March 18, 2016 on www.allafrica.com (English)
  5. ^ SAIRR : Survey of Race Relations in South Africa 1982 . Johannesburg 1983, pp. 195-196.
  6. Security services ready to defend Zimbabwe  ( page no longer available , search in web archivesInfo: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. . In: Zimbabwe Government Online, May 29, 2012@1@ 2Template: Dead Link / www.gta.gov.zw  
  7. a b The Herald: ED appoints new CIO boss . News from December 9, 2017 on www.herald.co.zw (English)
  8. ^ The Zimbabwean: Mugabe bodyguard dies after short illness . News from August 31, 2010 on www.nehandaradio.com (English)
  9. Face of Malawi: The Inside Story of Robert Mugabe's Downfall In Zimbabwe . News from November 27, 2017 on www.faceofmalawi.com (English)
  10. Owen Gagare: Mugabe's chief of security battered . Announcement of the Zimbabwe Independent from November 17, 2017 on www.theindependent.co.zw (English)