Activists charged in bomb plot
2009-01-08 08:08
Special Report
A classical music presenter for the BBC has been arrested and is in custody in Zimbabwe.
Harare - Seven members of Zimbabwe's main opposition party have become the first of dozens of jailed dissidents to be formally charged, and have pleaded not guilty in a bombing plot.
The seven are among rights activists and opposition party members detained in recent weeks in what the opposition calls a crackdown on dissent.
They were charged with terrorism, banditry and insurgency, and could face the death penalty if convicted.
They include Gandi Mudzingwa, an adviser to Movement for Democratic Change leader Morgan Tsvangirai; and Chris Dhlamini, head of security for Tsvangirai's party.
Lawyer Alec Muchadehama, who entered the not guilty pleas on behalf of his clients on Wednesday, told the judge the charges were "ridiculous and scandalous".
He also called two doctors who testified the defendants had been beaten while in police custody and had serious injuries. Muchadehama asked the judge to allow the defendants to be further examined outside jail to determine whether they had been tortured.
The prosecutors argued that the two doctors' testimony was not credible. The judge was expected to rule on Thursday on the request for further medical examination.
Plot allegations 'fabricated'
The charges stem from two minor blasts in the main Harare police station and a botched bombing of a highway bridge and railroad line west of Harare last year.
Several opposition activists accused of involvement had been acquitted earlier, and police have said the bombs at the police station may have been planted by disgruntled officers, possibly to destroy incriminating evidence.
In a separate case, another group of detainees has been accused - but so far not formally charged - of attempting to recruit fighters to train in neighbouring Botswana to overthrow President Robert Mugabe.
Leaders of neighbouring countries and international rights groups have said such charges are baseless.
The opposition says the various plot allegations have been fabricated amid an increasing clampdown on dissent, and could be used as an excuse to declare a state of emergency.
Mugabe, who has been in power since the country's 1980 independence from Britain, agreed in September to share power with Tsvangirai following a disputed presidential election in March. Under the deal, Mugabe is to remain president and Tsvangirai would get the new post of prime minister.
The deal has broken down, with Tsvangirai accusing Mugabe of trying to hold on to too many key Cabinet posts.
State media have reported that Mugabe was expected to form a new government by the end of February, apparently without the opposition. Tsvangirai insists he will not become prime minister in a unity government until disagreements are settled.
The political impasse has kept leaders from addressing the outbreak of a cholera epidemic, blamed on the collapse of Zimbabwe's health and sanitation systems.
On Wednesday, the United Nation's World Health Organisation reported 26 new deaths from cholera, bringing the number of people who have died from the waterborne disease to 1 778.
Mugabe appoints ministers
That was up from the 21 deaths reported on Tuesday, following a week in which the epidemic had showed signs of slowing.
In all, 35 931 cases of cholera have been reported in Zimbabwe since August, the UN reported.
Mugabe's claimed last month that the epidemic had been brought under control and that there was "no cholera" in the country.
Meanwhile, Zimbabwe's state-run newspaper The Herald reported on Wednesday that Mugabe had named eight Cabinet acting ministers to replace aides who lost their seats in the March vote.
Last week, the president formally dismissed the ministers who lost their parliamentary seats. That move was viewed as part of preparations for unilaterally naming a new government.
- AP