Cops ground Tsvangirai rallies
2008-03-26 07:28
Johannesburg - Campaigning by Zimbabwean presidential candidate Morgan Tsvangirai was hampered on Tuesday when the pilot who was supposed to ferry him to a series of rallies was arrested, said a spokesperson for his Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) faction in Johannesburg.
The arrest came amid reports that some shops in Zimbabwe had stopped selling goods until after this weekend's presidential, parliamentary and local elections and as President Robert Mugabe continued to issue dire warnings about an eventual opposition win.
Pilot Brent Smythe, a South African, was arrested by police at Harare Airport, from where he was due to ferry Tsvangirai to rallies in the southeast of the country, said the MDC's Roy Bennett.
Tsvangirai was not at the airport at the time of the swoop by the law-and-order section of the police.
Searching chopper for weapons
A senior MDC official Jameson Timba, an 81-year-old driver and a second pilot also were arrested and taken to Harare Central Prison, according to Bennett.
An MDC lawyer had tried in vain to get access to the detainees, said Bennett. Police had merely told the lawyer they were "searching the helicopter for weapons", he added.
On Saturday, authorities at Bulawayo Airport had grounded Tsvangirai by telling Smythe, a British citizen, who was due to ferry the MDC leader to four campaign rallies, he had failed to submit his flight plan on time.
Tsvangirai was unable to attend the rallies and returned to Harare, said Bennett.
Zimbabwe is in the last days of campaigning in a tense election pitting incumbent President Robert Mugabe, 84, against longtime opposition leader Tsvangirai, 56, and former finance minister and independent Simba Makoni, 57, for president. A little-known fourth candidate, Langton Towungana, is also running.
In a bid to curry support among Zimbabweans demoralised by skyrocketing inflation at more than 100 000%, Mugabe warned he would "read the riot act" to businesses that raised prices, the state Herald newspaper reported on Tuesday.
Mugabe's repeated warnings of the sort to business owners - following a state-imposed price rollback in shops last July - are seen as a factor behind the decision of some shops to cease trading until after the election.
"Our manager said nothing was to be sold until the election results had been announced," one shop assistant told the Herald.
'The greatest curse'
Nearly six million Zimbabweans are registered to vote in Saturday's synchronised presidential, parliamentary and local government polls, which take place against the backdrop of the country's worst economic crisis.
Embattled Mugabe, 84, whose populist policies have been blamed for Zimbabwe's demise, has vowed the opposition will never govern and described an opposition win as "the greatest curse" for the former British colony.
"Yes, they (the MDC) may win some seats, but they cannot win the majority of seats in Zimbabwe. Impossible!" he declared. "That's the greatest curse," he said on Monday. - Sapa-dpa
- SAPA