Speaking on the phone from her home in South Africa she said this is a
litmus test and "if Morgan Tsvangirai has no power to protect his top
leadership, the rest of the country is in big trouble because nothing
is going to change."
The official’s wife said the MDC leadership told her that her husband’s
case was a sensitive issue and they are working very hard to resolve
it. "But I am not a politician and to me it’s very simple. You have
just signed an agreement and already it’s being abused, so pull out of
it!"
Mrs Bennett said she was very worried when her husband decided to go
back home to Zimbabwe after fleeing to South Africa in 2006. But he was
eager and hopeful that SADC would stand by the agreement to be
guarantors of the new government. She said Morgan Tsvangirai had given
Bennett assurances that he would be fine.
But Mrs Bennett is now concerned that the leadership is not doing
enough and worried that history is repeating itself. In 2004 Bennett
spent eight months in jail after clashing with ZANU PF Justice Minister
Patrick Chinamasa in parliament.
"We have been there before with Roy, where ZANU PF does what they
please and they just carry on holding him on trumped up charges. And to
me unless someone does something really soon it will drag on and on."
"If they get away with this Morgan Tsvangirai may as well not even be
there because they will walk all over him. And unless he shows the
leadership now it is going to be a waste of time having an inclusive
government anyway."
Meanwhile, the Deputy Minister of Agriculture designate was on Tuesday
formally charged under the draconian Public Order and Security Act. The
matter was heard by Mutare Magistrate, Billard Musakwa, who is alleged
to be a ZANU PF zealot. He granted police a further warrant of
detention for 48 hours on Monday without hearing submissions of the
defence. However the matter was adjourned after the defence team
successfully applied for the recusal of Magistrate Musakwa, and a new
Magistrate heard the matter in the afternoon.
The State claims Bennett was in possession of firearms with the
intention of committing terrorism, banditry and sabotage and failed to
present himself to immigration officers at Charles Prince airport. The
MDC official was arrested at the airport while he was attempting to
travel to South Africa. The small aircraft, with seven other
passengers, was ordered to stop during take-off on the runway. The
defence team said their client presented himself to the immigration
officer at the airport and ‘has a copy of the manifesto, as well as the
immigration officers list to prove it’.
In early February Bennett had returned to Zimbabwe from South Africa
where he was living in exile with his family as a result of the same
‘terrorism’ charges. In his defence he says he was on his way back to
South Africa to visit his family and was going to return later in the
week, in time for the swearing in of Deputy Ministers in the new
government. The MDC official denies all the charges and says this is
clearly nothing more than political persecution.
Meanwhile, there was near mayhem at the Mutare courts when scores of
Bennett supporters who had been holding a vigil since his incarceration
last Friday, forced their way into the court chambers. MDC MP for
Makoni South, Pishai Muchauraya, said the protestors broke through a
court gate after the police tried to block the entrance. He said the
courtroom was packed with the supporters who have vowed to continue
with the vigil until their leader is released.
It has been suggested that there are elements in ZANU PF who are
unhappy with the power sharing government, hence Bennett’s arrest and
the continued imprisonment of civic and political activists in
violation of the global political agreement.
It’s reported that at the forefront of trying to scuttle this deal is
the Joint Operations Command, ZANU PF’s security apparatus, who
boycotted Tsvangirai’s inauguration as Prime Minister last week. But
analysts have warned that the rumours of JOC’s control are quite
detailed and are more than likely being spread by the CIO, and Mugabe
has always held very tightly onto control of what happens in Zimbabwe.Â
An MDC source, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said ZANU PF is
also making wild demands, wanting total amnesty dating back to the
1980s, in exchange for Bennett’s freedom. The source said: "Now they
are using Roy as a bargaining chip to get further concessions"
The source said some of the concessions include: No human rights
investigations or prosecutions, no extradition of Ethiopia’s Marxist
former ruler Mengistu Haile Mariam, accommodation of displaced
politicians who did not get positions in the inclusive government,
including the securing of Reserve Bank Governor Gideon Gono and the
Attorney Generals Johannes Tomana’s tenure.
Although we could not get a direct comment from the MDC on this issue,
the party said this in a statement on Tuesday: "These charges are
scandalous and politically motivated. Roy Bennett will not be used as
ransom and he will not accept to be horse traded for any political
convenience"
The new Minister of Finance Tendai Biti was quoted in the South African
media threatening ‘unspecified’ action if Bennett is not released on
Tuesday. But Bennett was remanded in custody Tuesday and moved from
Mutare police station to Mutare prison. The magistrate is expected to
make a ruling on the matter on Wednesday.