He has now been charged under Section 61 of the notorious Public Order
and Security Act (POSA) with conspiring to acquire arms with a view to
disrupting essential services.
Following his arrest at Charles Prince Airport in Harare of Bennett, he
was first taken to Goromonzi Police Station where he was charged with
treason. He was then driven to Mutare Central.
The arrest of Roy Bennett was ordered by Assistant Commissioner Mabunda
and Assistant Commissioner Nhau of Harare Police General Headquarters.
Throughout the journey the accompanying personnel communicated
regularly with Mabunda and Nhau to appraise them on the situation.
They were travelling at high speed and a witness described the driver
as appearing to be nervous. It is not clear whether they were aware
that they were being followed throughout the journey. The vehicle
stopped to refuel in Marondera enabling the spotter vehicles to catch
up and follow for the remainder of the journey to Mutare. Along the way
they communicated with a chain of activists at the ready to relay
reports, including to The Zimbabwe Times.
When the vehicle arrived at Mutare Central a peaceful crowd of MDC
supporters immediately gathered to express solidarity with Bennett. As
the size of the crowd grew to more than 200 people, word spread that
the police were preparing to transfer Bennett to a secret location. The
registration plates had been removed from the silver Toyota Hilux truck
that brought Bennett to Mutare.
The vehicle started to move so the crowd reacted by blocking the exit
to prevent Bennett from being taken out of the police station. The
crowd was singing and dancing peacefully. The police then tried to move
the crowd back and away from the exit. The crowd resisted vocally
insisting that they did not want Bennett taken away and they were
therefore not moving.
They were forced to retreat when police dogs were brought in and the
police threatened strong-arm action, pushing the crowd back with
truncheons. The vehicle moved out of the police station with only one
person inside. The crowd were permitted to inspect and confirm that
Bennett was not inside.
The crowd decided to hold an all-night vigil outside the police
station. The police were initially passive but when the atmosphere
became charged the riot police were brought in. The police used dogs
and truncheons to disperse the crowd. But the crowd slowly returned.
The police then indiscriminately fired teargas canisters, rubber
bullets and rounds of live ammunition into the air.
Two people were badly beaten by the police and several witnesses spoke
of police brutality. One victim was taken to hospital. Some shop
windows were broken in the ensuing melee but nothing appeared to have
been looted.
MDC activists roamed the area throughout the night.
At 7.30 on Saturday morning food was taken to the police station but
the police details manning the entrance refused access not only to
those bringing food for Bennett but relatives bringing in food for
others in detention.
One Inspector Florence Marume was most unpleasant and ordered that no
feeding of prisoners would occur that day. The police station was then
blocked off while heavily armed police details roamed the streets and
forced both pedestrian and vehicle traffic away from the area.
Eventually Bennett's lawyers were allowed access to him and food was
taken in. The lawyers had been denied access since Friday. They advised
Inspector Marume that she would be held personally responsible for
denying Bennett and other detainees food and legal counsel.
In the afternoon Bennett was visited by the MDC provincial executive. He was in good spirits and was unharmed.
On Saturday night eight activists were apprehended by riot police. The
roads surrounding the Mutare Central Police Station remain barricaded
and manned by police details.
On Sunday morning Bennett was allowed both food and access to two
lawyers. He was also visited my members of the MDC provincial
executive. The officer in charge was Superintendent Makoni from
Bindura. He was courteous and allowed Bennett private time with his
lawyer. He was unharmed.
He has not been charged with treason but with a lesser charge and is
due to appear in court tomorrow, Monday. He has a strong support base
monitoring the situation and maintaining a presence around the police
station reporting on any unfolding events.