The white former farmer and hate figure for President Robert Mugabe’s regime who is at the centre of a power struggle over Zimbabwe’s new government, is to appear in court today on terrorism charges.
The Movement for Democratic Change said Roy Bennett, who it nominated as a Deputy Minister of Agriculture in the coalition government, is the victim of a “malicious political vendetta” by hardliners within the military intent on scuppering the power-sharing deal.
The new Prime Minister, Morgan Tsvangirai, and some of his ministers said such resistance was inevitable and they would not play into the hands of the hardliners by pulling out of the government.
But Tsvangirai did warn that Bennett’s arrest and the continued detention of about 30 other political prisoners, many of whom have been tortured, would undermine public confidence in the powersharing administration if the situation is allowed to continue.
Bennett was arrested on Friday, hours before the new government was sworn in. The police at first accused him of attempting to leave the country illegally and then said he would be charged with treason.
But his lawyer says Bennett now faces prosecution under recent security legislation that was drawn up specifically to pursue Mugabe’s opponents.
The lawyer, Trust Maanda, said the police accused Bennett of plotting to buy weapons for an attack on a telecommunications station “in order to disrupt essential services”, after realising that the treason charge would not stick.
“The police must have realised that they had no leg to stand on. Their case would not hold water,” Maanda said.
In a statement, the MDC said the police were casting around for anything to charge Bennett with and settled on the notorious Public Order and Security Act.
“Clearly they are on a fishing expedition, clutching at straws and know fully well that there is no basis, even suspicion, at law to charge Roy Bennett,” the party said.
“All these charges are politically motivated, driven by a vindictive and malicious political vendetta.”
Although Bennett’s arrest has been characterised by some critics as evidence that the new power-sharing administration is already failing, MDC leaders said such resistance was to be expected and that it would diminish if the coalition government could see through the coming weeks and win popular support by bringing in foreign cash to alleviate the deep financial crisis.
Tsvangirai told the Associated Press that while Bennett’s arrest “undermines the spirit of our agreement” it would not be allowed to wreck it.
“There’s no way we will neglect our obligation, even though there are signs of resistance,” he said. The MDC said it believed Bennett’s detention was organised by the Military Intelligence Directorate with the collusion of the military chief of staff, General Constantine Chiwenga, and the country’s police chief, Augustine Chihuri, who has previously threatened to take up arms against a Tsvangirai-led government. All are members of the eight-man Joint Operations Command, effectively Mugabe’s security cabinet, along with commissioner of prisons, Major-General Paradzai Zimondi, who has blocked the release of political detainees.
However, the MDC said there were signs of divisions within the JOC because it was not clear that its chairperson, Emmerson Mnangagwa, a long-standing member of Mugabe’s Cabinet and now defence minister, had endorsed the recent actions.
The party said that, in any case, attempting to block political changes will fail.
“It is futile and ill-considered for anyone to go against the very momentum of history,” said the MDC.
“Change in Zimbabwe is inevitable.” – guardian.co.uk