OWN CORRESPONDENT, Harare | Monday
ZIMBABWE’S main opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai appeared in a Harare High Court Monday to answer charges of terrorism and inciting violence, and asked for the case to be referred to the Supreme Court.
The charges against Tsvangirai, President Robert Mugabe’s only real contender in presidential elections due next year, arise from a statement the oppostion leader made last year at a rally where he suggested that Mugabe could be removed from power violently if he did not step down before the polls.
If convicted, Tsvangirai faces life in prison.
A lawyer for Tsvangirai, who appeared relaxed when appearing before the court on Monday, requested the case be referred to the Supreme Court to determine the constitutionality of the act under which he is being tried.
The leader of the Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) has been accused under Zimbabwe’s notorious Law and Order (Maintenance) Act, used by the former colonial government of Ian Smith to crack down on black dissent and nationalism in the 1960s and 1970s.
“We request that the matter be referred to the Supreme Court to determine the constitutionality of sections 51 and 58 of the Law and Order [Maintenance] Act,” said Chris Andersen, Tsvangirai’s lawyer.
“We have an absolute right to make such a request which may only be refused if it is found to be frivolous and vexatious,” the laywer said.
Tsvangirai’s lawyer said the provisions of the Law and Order Act were “far too wide to be served and is plainly a contravention of the freedom of expression”.
State prosecutor Nathaniel Sibanda, opposed the request, arguing that it was “frivolous” and designed to hold up legal proceedings.
Judge Moses Chinhengo was expected to make a ruling on the request later Monday.
ZA*NOW:
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