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Tsvangirai: No charge yet
04/06/2008 17:02 - (SA)
Harare - Zimbabwean opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai and several of his top
lieutenants were detained by police on Wednesday in the approach to a
key run-off presidential election on June 27, his party said.
"He has been taken into a charge office in Lupane," southwestern
Zimbabwe, chief Movement for Democratic Change spokesperson Nelson Chamisa
told AFP.
"It's the whole entourage of the president, including his security
personnel and other senior party officials."
Others arrested included the party's deputy leader Thokozani Khupe
and MDC chair Lovemore Moyo.
"They have not given us any reason for the arrest," added Chamisa. 'Our bosses want to see you'
"The police just said our bosses want to see you."
The MDC said in a statement that Tsvangirai had initially been
stopped by police on a slip road while driving in the Lupane area and
held for some two hours before being transferred to the police station.
Four MDC lawmakers have been arrested in the lead-up to the election
at the end of the month when Tsvangirai is looking to topple President
Robert Mugabe who has steered the southern African nation for 28 years.
A leader of a breakaway MDC faction, Arthur Mutambara, was arrested
on Sunday over an opinion piece which was heavily critical of
84-year-old Mugabe's rule of the former British colony.
The party also says that 58 of its supporters have been killed by
pro-Mugabe militias in recent weeks.
The MDC has faced severe restrictions in its campaigning efforts and
Tsvangirai has been largely prevented from addressing party rallies.
During a visit to the southern city of Bulawayo on Tuesday,
Tsvangirai said: "Mugabe is determined to turn the whole country into a
war zone in order to subvert the will of the people and steal the June
27 election by any means possible.
Charged with treason
"But we will not stop campaigning, the people will not stop
supporting the MDC and together we will defeat this illegitimate and
desperate regime."
Tsvangirai has been arrested on a number of occasions and twice been
charged with treason.
The former union leader suffered head injuries in March last year
after being assaulted by the security forces as he tried to stage an
anti-government rally in the capital Harare.
Tsvangirai is only participating in the run-off election on June 27
under protest, insisting he won an outright majority in the first round
in March.
Official results from the electoral commission gave Tsvangirai 47.9% of the votes against Mugabe's 43.2%.
Mugabe is currently in Rome to attend a UN food agency
summit. He used his speech at the Food and Agriculture Organisation
meeting on Tuesday to accuse the West of trying to bring about "illegal
regime change" in Zimbabwe.
- AFP
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Zimbabwe Special Report
