After a trial that heard of fake emails and the torture of witnesses, Roy Bennett, a senior Zimbabwean opposition figure, walked out of court on Monday — but not necessarily yet as a free man.
His release should have been a sign of easing tensions, but it has only shown how deep the resentment is between President Mugabe and his opponents. Despite a high court judge ripping the state’s case apart in his ruling, state prosecutors said they intended to appeal.
Even if the courts do free him, Zanu-PF will not make it easy for Bennett, a man revered in the opposition for his stand against Mugabe, but reviled in equal measure by others for having served in the Rhodesian security forces.
Bennett had faced treason charges, but a judge dismissed allegations he had funded a plot to overthrow Mugabe.
The trial had put on display the extent to which supporters of Mugabe are willing to go to nail his opponents. The trial saw a trail of fake emails, a star witness who revealed he had been tortured into implicating Bennett, and incredible story lines, including alleged plots to bomb telecoms links and assassinate leading political figures.
Bennett’s trial also put the spotlight on attorney general Johannes Tomana, whose continued stay in office is bitterly opposed by the MDC. Tomana had surprised by taking charge of the case himself, but it backfired badly. As the case crumbled, his superiors criticised his handling of the case and his already tainted credibility suffered even further knocks.
Emerging from the court on Monday,Tomana himself appeared exhausted and relieved the trial was over. He told reporters the judgment would be respected. “It is the high court and its decision is binding,” he said.
But it appeared instructions had not yet reached him. Across town, Zanu-PF legal secretary Emmerson Mnangagwa, a close confidante of President Mugabe, was giving an interview to state television.
Asked to comment on the Bennett acquittal, Mnangagwa said he was only hearing about it for the first time from his interviewer. “What you don’t tell me is whether the state is appealing or not,” he said. An appeal would “stop everything” he said, referring to Bennett’s swearing in as deputy agriculture minister.
Giving an insight into sentiment within Zanu-PF over Bennett’s appointment, Mnangagwa said even if there was no appeal, Mugabe could still reject Bennett’s appointment. “The President cannot be forced into anything.”
MDC officials celebrated his release outside court and demanded that he be immediately appointed to government.
Bennett said he thought the trial would go on forever. He now believes his release was a result of regional pressure on Mugabe.
“There is a lot of pressure on him [Mugabe], and so there are things that are happening that one would never have expected; my acquittal yesterday for instance. So definitely there are pressures and definitely the process is moving forward, albeit slowly.”
Scores of high-profile Mugabe critics have been hauled before the courts over the years, but there have been no convictions.
The trial was a major embarrassment for Zanu-PF. Peter Hitshmann, a convicted arms dealer the state had called as a star witness, charged he had been tortured into naming Bennett. High court judge Chinembiri Bhunu was scathing in his ruling, noting how Hitshmann’s torturers had been so “drunk and disorderly” they even forgot to make him sign the statement implicating Bennett.
The state’s evidence in chief had been a string of emails they claimed could be traced back to Bennett. But to drive home the point that anyone could easily fake emails, Bennett’s lawyer Beatrice Mtetwa brought to court her own fake emails, some of which showed Tomana as the sender. Bhunu criticised the “ignorance and arrogance” of a state witness, said to be an IT expert, whose claims that it was not possible to fake emails were easily disproved in court.
Bennett’s acquittal has raised debate on whether the judiciary, often criticised by Mugabe opponents when it rules against them, is independent, or whether the acquittal was part of a behind-the-scenes political deal.
Bhunu appeared to address this point, saying the court is like a football referee and no side should expect favours. “One cannot dive at the centre circle and expect the referee to award a penalty,” the judge said.