China is to supply Zimbabwe with new-generation spy equipment to help Robert Mugabe's regime crack down on illicit internet traffic and block dissident radio signals.
According to South African website journalism.co.za, members of the feared Central Intelligence Organisation have said they are replacing 'Soviet-era' equipment with hardware from China.
'We are not only targeting opposition members but including some suspicious and wayward Zanu [PF] members,' said an officer quoted in the report. The report tallies with recent announcements that the Zimbabwean government has turned its focus from the tattered and ineffective opposition to dissidents within its own ranks.
Several senior members have been caught supplying information to a South African intelligence agent and others, such as former information minister Jonathan Moyo, made a pre-emptive move earlier this year to seize the leadership of the ruling Zanu (PF) party from Mr Mugabe's control.
At the same time dissident movements based in London, South Africa and elsewhere have used websites such as newzimbabwe.com to provide alternative news on events in the country, where repressive media laws have all but shut down all non-government sanctioned websites.
The spy network has responded by monitoring suspected dissidents' telephone calls. The internet has proved more difficult to monitor, particularly as hundreds of internet cafes are to be found in urban areas, making it almost impossible to track an individual's online activities if 'terminal hopping' is used. The internet has therefore become an important resource for swapping information.