HARARE - Ten Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) legislators were arrested on Wednesday at the Ministry of Finance offices in Harare in unclear circumstances.Zimabwe Lawyers for Human Rights Legal officer Tafadzwa Mugabe confirmed the ten MPs were still detained at the police station.
“We are at the Harare Central Police Station right now and I am trying to get the clear details of their case. What I know at the moment is that they are being charged with conduct likely to cause breach of peace,” said Mugabe The ten MPs are Pishai Muchauraya, Prosper Mutseyami, Cephas Makuyana, Margret Matienga, Felix Mafa, Simon Hove, Piniel Denga, Amos Chibaya, Shephered Madamombe and another one who could not be confirmed The Zimabwean managed to speak to one of the arrested MPs Pishai Muchauraya who narrated how they were arrested.
“We had gone to theMinistry of Finance offices to see the permant secretary for finance Willard Manungo because we wanted to understand why a directive was given to a local garage which was supposed to supply us with cars under the parliamentary scheme,” said Muchauraya from the detention cell at the Harare Central Police station.
“We had been told by the garage that they can not give us the cars because Manungo’s office had issued the directive. We did not see the secretary for finance, he was said to be in a meeting with donors and we were asked wait for him in the boardroom but after a few minutes seven heavily armed police officers arrived and arrested us.” But police spokesperson Chief Superintendent, Oliver Mandipaka, could not confirm nor deny the arrest.
“I haven’t received that report but i will check on that,” said Mandipaka last night.
Several MDC parliamentarians have over the past few months been arrested on spurriuos charges in a move seen as an attempt to whittle down its slender parliamentary majority.
Three MDC MPs have so far been convicted and sentenced to length jail terms but have since appealed. Several other MDC MPs are facing various charges.
Most recently the Deputy Minister of Indigenisation and Youth Development, Thamsanga Mahlangu, was arrested on charges of stealing war veteran Joseph Chinotimba’s phone. He is out on bail and will be sented later this month.
Under Zimbabwean law, a member of parliament loses his seat after being jailed to a jail sentence of more than six months.
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