Deputy South African Foreign Affairs Minister Aziz Pahad today refused to condemn the treason trial of Zimbabwean opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai, indicating that the law must take its course.
Speaking in a debate on SAFM today — together with Moses Ndlovu, shadow foreign minister of Zimbabwe — Pahad was specifically asked if he was not concerned that a leading opposition member was being brought to trail on what appeared to be bogus charges.
He said: “We tend to jump to conclusions. Leading South African lawyers are involved in representing the defendants. We will have to wait and see what happens in the trial.”
“Let us wait for judgement to be made,” he told John Perlman, an SABC presenter. Pahad noted that South Africa had been following the issue since charges were laid against Tsvangirai soon after he lost his presidential bid against President Rober Mugabe in March.
Tsvangirai is charged with plotting the assassination of President Robert Mugabe. He faces the death penalty if convicted of treason on the basis of a video-cassette purportedly showing him discussing Mugabe’s assassination with consultants in Canada.
The cassette was aired on Australian television in February — a month before the presidential election.
Tsvangirai lost the election — viewed as rigged by most Western powers – by about 400 000 votes.
He faces trial from today along with MDC Secretary General Welshman Ncube and Shadow Agriculture minister Renson Gasela. The three were filmed apparently discussing Mugabe’s elimination with a firm of Canadian consultants including Ari Ben Menashe, a former Israeli intelligence agent.
Ndlovu did not comment on the trial but said that South Africa should engage in targeted sanctions against Zanu-PF leaders. He said there had been the abrogation of the rule of law and described the land reform program as chaotic and favouring Mugabe’s cronies.
He also accused South African ministers who visited Zimbabwe of not engaging with the opposition. – I-Net Bridge