Zimbabwean police arrested a prominent opposition lawyer on Saturday in a dawn raid at his home, a day after the leader of the Movement for Democratic Change, Morgan Tsvangirai, was detained for a second time and banned from holding political rallies.
On Saturday it was revealed that it was only the direct intervention of the South African President, Thabo Mbeki, that had led to Tsvangirai being released.
With just 19 days to go until the presidential run-off on 27 June, Robert Mugabe’s government is intensifying a vicious crackdown on the MDC and its supporters.
Eric Matinenga, an MP and Tsvangirai’s lawyer during his 2005 treason trial, on Saturday became the sixth MDC legal adviser to have been arrested and detained since the result of the first presidential poll on 29 March was eventually announced. That was won by Tsvangirai, but without the majority needed to avoid a run-off with Mugabe.
Matinenga was rearrested two days after a magistrate had ordered him to be released from custody, saying he had been wrongly charged with inciting public violence. MDC spokesperson Nelson Chamisa said Matinenga’s arrest was illegal and accused Mugabe of sabotaging campaigning in order to keep his 28-year hold on power.
All week police have been closing off areas where MDC rallies were planned to take place and arresting activists, including David Nyathi, the MDC’s provincial director of elections. Tsvangirai was detained twice as he tried to campaign in the south-western province of Matabeleland. On Thursday, Tsvangirai, his deputy Thokozani Khupe, and the MDC national chairperson Lovemore Moyo, were detained at a roadblock and held for more than 11 hours. Tsvangirai told the Observer that their bullet-proof vehicle was impounded and remains in a police lock-up.
Police spokesperson Wayne Bvudzijena insisted: ”People are free to campaign as they choose.” But he said Tsvangirai had consistently broken the law by failing to notify police of his rallies. ”For now, we are just warning him,” Bvudzijena said.
Mbeki’s spokesperson, Mukoni Ratshitanga, confirmed that Mbeki had came to Tsvangirai’s rescue. ”Discussions did take place with government representatives in Harare in which the President appealed for Mr Tsvangirai’s release,” Ratshitanga said.
The Southern African Development Community appointed Mbeki last year to facilitate talks between Zanu-PF and the MDC with a view to finding a lasting solution. The talks collapsed and Mbeki has come under heavy criticism for his softly-softly approach to Mugabe.
After several weeks of intimidation and violent attacks by police and militias that have seen more than 60 MDC supporters killed, and tens of thousands flee their homes, Mugabe’s strategy now seems to be to cripple the opposition by arresting its leaders and militarising his former strongholds in the rural areas, where Tsvangirai made major gains in March.
”They are trying to cripple the electoral capacity of the MDC in every way. Many of our leadership in the frontline have been killed, abducted, beaten and generally harassed,” said Eddie Cross, an opposition MP.
At the same time, a familiar tactic of starving the opposition is being played out. On Thursday, Mugabe’s government announced a ban on non-government organisations providing food aid in the countryside, accusing them of ”political activity” and leaving Zanu-PF clear to use food to coerce votes.
The United Nations and the Food and Agriculture Organisation are warning that Zimbabweans are enduring unusually huge shortages of food supplies. Bread in particular is becoming scarce and the goverment’s grain silos are said to be empty. American and British officials said food was being used as a weapon, because with the charities banned millions of the poorest Zimbabweans have to turn to Mugabe. Only the government and Mugabe’s Zanu PF will now be distributing food and other aid.
The outspoken US ambassador to Zimbabwe, James McGee, said on Friday that the authorities were now supplying food mostly to Mugabe supporters. In a video-conference from Harare, McGee said his embassy has evidence food was being offered to opposition members only if they hand over their ID cards.
Speaking in South Africa, Simba Makoni, the former Zanu-PF minister who turned independent to run in the first round of the presidential race, is advocating delaying the elections until officials could ensure a fair poll.
Makoni said: ”Even if by the remotest of chances we could have an election whose results would resemble the will of the people, it would still not resolve the crisis. Neither of the two leaders … would be able to form an effective government if they won the run-off.”
But Mugabe’s chief election agent, Emmerson Mnangagwa, said that the president was misunderstood by anyone who thought that he would not abide by a democratic vote and relinquish power.
He said the president ”does not think he will lose and hand over power”. But he added: ”If Mugabe loses the election, I will be the first to go to him as his chief election agent and say, ‘Boss, we have lost. We brought democracy to Zimbabwe and we should defend it.’ I will ask him if I should draft his resignation speech, or whether he would rather draft his own statement.”
Tsvangirai spoke confidently, too, saying he expected the crackdown to backfire: ”If Mugabe did not hear the voice in March, he’s going to hear a much louder voice that people no longer enjoy their confidence in this government.”
Whether the terrified and hungry people of Zimbabwe will feel able to cast their vote on 27 June remains to be seen. – guardian.co.uk