Zimbabwean senator "Pachedu" Roy Bennett (pictured), the inclusive governments deputy Minister of Lands designate and Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) treasurer, has been detained again in Mutare prison.Bennett faces trial on trumped up charges of plotting insurgency, banditry and sabotage by allegedly funding the MDC to buy arms in 2005. Yesterday Bennetts trial was initially delayed by seven hours and when state prosecutor Michael Mugabe finally appeared, he shocked the packed courtroom by announcing the intention to indict Bennett in the High Court.
Bennett’s defence team, lead by Beatrice Mtetwa, said their client was given no notice of the indictment, instead he was expecting to receive judgement on his pending case in the Mutare Provincial Magistrate’s court.
They have reiterated that his detention is unjustified, as the state has yet to provide any evidence to back the charges of terrorism. Party members present in court in Mutare have described the state prosecutors as a disgrace to the judiciary, the nation and the people of Zimbabwe. Bail has been revoked on service of the indictment and Bennett will remain in custody at Mutare Remand Prison until he makes application for and is granted bail.
Since being elected as a legislator for the MDC in 2000, Bennett has been locked up and assaulted in detention several times. On February 13, Bennett was seized by state security agents at Prince Charles airport en route to South Africa for the weekend, an action viewed widely as an attempt to sabotage the inclusive government.
He was incarcerated in Mutare Remand Prison where prison conditions for the over-crowded inmates were appalling. The remand prison has a capacity of about 160 inmates but was holding at least 300 people.
According to Bennett, there were inmates who look worse than the photographs of prisoners in World War II concentration camps. While he was there, six people prisoners died in one week due to starvation. Their already decomposing bodies were only collected after four or five days.
The continuing victimisation of the MDC Senator is, according to party sources, “a purely vindictive personal vendetta on the part of Justice Minister Patrick Chinamasa. The party has called upon all those in the inclusive government, the region and the world to insist on the return to the rule of law in Zimbabwe and the right to a fair trial for all.
On 28 September, Zimbabwes Supreme Court ruled that Jestina Mukoko, a leading human rights activist and her co-accused, could not be tried then or in the future on terror charges because they were beaten and tortured in jail, violating their constitutional rights.
Since Bennetts constitutional rights have been consistently violated by the state, it is widely believed that the spurious terrorism charges against him should also be dropped. In addition, the terms of the GPA should be respected and Senator Bennett should immediately be sworn in as Deputy Minister of Agriculture.
Website: www.zimbabwedemocracynow.com
Post published in: News