The longtime opposition leader was sworn in as prime minister Wednesday
by longtime rival Robert Mugabe. Tsvangirai said in a speech after the
inauguration ceremony that he wanted political prisoners freed
immediately.
His spokesman, Joseph Mungwari, said no assurances of release were
obtained during the visit to a maximum-security prison near the capital.
Mungwari said the prime minister spent 45 minutes with 16 prisoners
linked to his Movement for Democratic Change party. They have been
accused since October of subversion and recruiting fighters to
overthrow Mugabe. The MDC denies the charges, saying they were trumped
up by Mugabe’s party.
"It is well known the prisoners are not well" in the harsh conditions
of the prison 12 miles (20 kilometers) outside Harare, Mungwari said.
Three other detainees, including Jestina Mukoko, a top human rights and
peace activist held since Dec. 3, were taken from prison later Thursday
for medical examinations at a private clinic in Harare, their lawyers
said.
Private doctors had said Mukoko, 72-year-old Fidelis Chiramba, and
Ghandi Mudzingwa, a personal aide of Tsvangirai, needed care urgently
after weeks in prison.
Irene Petras, head of the Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights, whose
members have represented at least 40 political prisoners arrested in
recent months, said the three needed urgent hospitalization. A
government doctor was sent Thursday to corroborate the diagnoses of
private doctors. His findings were expected to be submitted to a court
Friday in a hearing to demand they be taken to receive better care.
Prison authorities have already ignored several court rulings ordering all the detainees receive adequate medical care.
Also Thursday, Tsvangirai, a former labor leader, met with officials of
the main labor federation, the Zimbabwe Congress of Trade Unions. The
labor coalition had joined several independent Zimbabwean groups in
calling for fresh elections, not power-sharing.
Thursday, activist Lovemore Matombo said labor groups saw the unity
government as a "transitional arrangement" leading to fresh, free and
fair elections.
"We shall see how it works," Matombo said, saying workers would hold
protest strikes if they were not satisfied with the Tsvangirai-Mugabe
government.
Tsvangirai won the most votes in March presidential elections, but not
enough to avoid a runoff against Mugabe. Tsvangirai dropped out of the
June runoff because of state-sponsored violence against his supporters.
Mugabe claimed victory in the runoff, and Zimbabwe had been at
political impasse until the power-sharing deal devised by neighboring
leaders was implemented.