An opposition politician and hate figure for the Zimbabwean President, Robert Mugabe, will learn on Monday whether he must answer terrorism charges that could result in the death penalty.
Roy Bennett, the treasurer general of the Movement for Democratic Change (MDC), will appear at the high court to find out if his trial will go ahead. The white former farmer is accused of buying arms in 2006 to carry out acts of insurgency, sabotage, banditry or terrorism.
In an interview with the Guardian, Bennett insisted the long-running case was politically motivated but offered to relinquish his claim to a position in government, in a bid to save Zimbabwe’s fragile power-sharing agreement.
“It’s very unsettling,” said Bennett, at his home in the capital, Harare. “To sit there and to listen to absolute fabricated lies where basically you’ve got the death sentence hanging over your head is not pleasant at all.”
He continued: “To know that the people that are doing it will stop at absolutely nothing to achieve their ends and that there is a selective application of the rule of law, that the judiciary is totally compromised, that the very judge that’s trying me is the owner of a farm that he’s been given through political patronage, that all the appointees have been done through the ministry of justice on a political basis … basically I should expect no mercy and fear the worst.”
Bennett is pessimistic about the outcome of tomorrow’s hearing. “If you look at the whole trend and pattern of how [Mugabe’s] Zanu-PF has operated with opposition leaders, it’s a case of tying people up with court cases for as long as they can, and keeping them out of the active arena of their duties within politics.
“I honestly believe that for whatever reasons they will try and make this thing last as long as possible and carry it on as long as they can.”
‘Trumped-up charges’
The MDC says that more than 100 of its members and activists are facing various trumped-up charges across the country. Bennett, was arrested in February 2009, on the day he was due to be sworn in to the inclusive government as deputy agriculture minister.
The senator said that he would be willing to step aside if it meant it meant breaking the political deadlock and moving towards fresh elections.
‘I was elected to my position by the people of Zimbabwe to serve them honestly and transparently so I have absolutely no problem where I serve. Certainly I would hate a process to stop over individuals and personalities.
“It’s far beyond personalities and far bigger than personalities. You’re talking about people’s livelihoods, the restoration and reconstruction of a country.”
The 53-year-old added: “Certainly a single post should not stop that process moving forward. So if it meant step aside completely and not be involved, and that would move the process forward towards a fresh election and towards democracy, I would be the first person to endorse that.”
Bennett said: “Zanu-PF and MDC have very little interaction. They’re two polarised camps, which is why this GPA [global political agreement] is a total failure. One person’s been murdering and raping you and accusing you of being puppets of the west and British and whatever; and on the other hand you try and sit and have a civilised conversation. It’s impossible.”
But he added: “I’m very optimistic … You’re dealing with a total autocratic despot dictator. Where in the world have those sort of people been removed overnight? It is a process. The people that have to be accolades is the Zimbabwean people that have suffered the brunt of this dictatorship economically and through human rights abuses, yet they have remained resolute and strong on what they want.
‘Let the court settle the matter’
George Mlala, Zanu-PF’s Bulawayo province deputy secretary for indigenisation, argued the courts should now be left alone to decide Bennett’s case.
“Suppose Mugabe says today, ‘Hey police, this man please, can you stop all your investigations, I want to appoint him today,'” he said. “Is that not an interference with the police? We are saying, if MDC wants this matter settled, let the court settle the matter.
“If Bennett is found guilty and sentenced to life imprisonment, 10 years’ imprisonment, 24 hours’ imprisonment, go to the president and say, ‘The man has been found guilty. Can you please pardon him?’ If he pardons him, nobody will say he’s interfered with the courts or police. But now his hands are tied. If it was me, I would not release Bennett. I would allow the court to proceed.” — Guardian News and Media 2010