A Zimbabwe High Court judge on Sunday freed a senior ally of Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai following his arrest on unspecified charges on Friday.
Jameson Timba, a minister in Tsvangirai’s office, was arrested soon after his arrival from a visit to Spain but his lawyers had not been able to speak to him because they were denied access by the police.
Judge Joseph Musakwa said police had violated Timba’s rights and had not informed him of the charges he faced.
“There is no justification for his continued detention,” Musakwa said.
In the past week, officials from President Robert Mugabe’s Zanu-PF party have been calling for the arrest of both Tsvangirai and Timba, accusing them of labelling the veteran ruler a liar over the outcome of a regional summit on Zimbabwe.
Meanwhile, a top army officer and close ally of Mugabe last week accused Tsvangirai of being a national security threat and a lackey of Western powers.
“Tsvangirai doesn’t pose a political threat in any way in Zimbabwe, but is a major security threat,” the state-owned Herald newspaper quoted Brigadier General Douglas Nyikayaramba as saying on June 23.
“He takes instructions from foreigners who seek to effect illegal regime change in Zimbabwe.
“This is what has invited the security forces to be involved because we want to protect our national security interests.”
Nyikayaramba’s comments come after Tsvangirai urged army generals at a rally on June 19 to resign and run for political office instead of making intimidating statements.
Nyikayaramba dismissed Tsvangirai’s comments as “nonsense”.
“We are dealing with a national security threat, which can only be dealt with by people in uniform,” he said. “If it was a normal political environment, one would hope to retire at some point and join politics.
“However, we can’t afford to be akimbo when there is this foreign attack.”
Nyikayaramba was earlier this week removed from the country’s constitution-making body after he called for President Mugabe to remain in office for life. – Reuters, AFP