Zimbabwe’s opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai was grilled during his trial on Monday on why his party hired a Canadian political consultancy to help promote its image when it had already engaged a British firm to do so.
The state had queried why the Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) engaged Dickens and Madison when BMSG of Britain was already doing work for it.
Dickens and Madison of Canada is owned by Ari Ben Menashe, the key state witness in the case in which Tsvangirai is charged with plotting to kill President Robert Mugabe ahead of presidential polls in March 2002, which the opposition leader lost.
Tsvangirai has denied conspiring to assassinate Mugabe, saying he believes the long-time leader has to be involved in efforts to end the southern African country’s crises. If convicted, Tsvangirai (51) could face the death sentence.
Tsvangirai insisted in court Monday that a $500 000 contract his party signed with Dickens and Madison was genuine, contrary to state evidence that it was meant to cover up a plot to kill Mugabe.
”The contract was bona fide and genuine. We hired Dickens and Madison because we were convinced that, unlike BMSG, it had intimate knowledge of the Zimbabwean political scene and was widely known in Canada and the United States,” he said.
The MDC said it had enlisted the services of the Canadian firm to help polish its image abroad and raise funds for the election campaign in the run-up to the 2002 election. Asked during cross examination by state prosecutor Bharat Patel why BMSG had paid $50 000 to Dickens and Madison, Tsvangirai said: ”It’s usual that big companies can share work. I cannot explain that”.
Zimbabwe plunged into its worst political crisis since independence from Britain in 1980 after the presidential vote.
The economy is in a downward spiral, with inflation hitting a record 620% in November, amid rising levels of poverty and unemployment approaching 80%.
Talks between the government and the MDC broke down before they were able to gain momentum in 2002 after Tsvangirai mounted a court challenge against Mugabe’s election victory.
The brokers of the talks, presidents Thabo Mbeki of South Africa and Olusegun Obasanjo of Nigeria, last week hinted that formal talks could be rescuscitated soon. – Sapa-AFP