By Kylie M Tsudama
Impunity Watch Reporter, Africa
HARARE, Zimbabwe – The trial of Roy Bennett, the Movement for Democratic Change’s (MDC) nominee for Deputy Agriculture Minister, was postponed on Saturday in order to allow his lawyers time to prepare their case.
The trial was originally scheduled to start on Monday in a lower court in Mutare, about 185 miles from the capital of Harare. However, on Wednesday prosecutor’s filed a new indictment moving the case to the high court. Bennett was sent back to jail and released on bail on Friday.
Bennett faced charges of possessing weapons for sabotage, banditry, and terrorism. According to the new indictment, he also faces charges of inciting people to commit insurgency, sabotage, terrorism, and banditry, an offense that carries a sentence of life in prison. The weapons charge is punishable by death.
Beatrice Mtetwa, Bennett’s lawyer, said, “The High Court of Zimbabwe rules are very clear: There must be at least 10 working days of notice before the trial date commences. We really want him tried, but we want everything to be done in terms of the law.”
Prior to Bennett’s release on Friday, Morgan Tsvangirai, Zimbabwe’s Prime Minister, made an announcement that he would boycott the unity government by not participating in meetings with other government members.
Tsvangirai believes that the postponement of Bennett’s trial “is to deliberate and frustrate him, to frustrate [the] constituency, to send the message, ‘Look, we can [govern] unilaterally.’ And that is what we are trying to oppose.”
The Prime Minister did emphasize, however, that he was not pulling out of the unity government. He made it clear that the MDC would “disengage” from ZANU-PF, President Robert Mugabe’s party, “until such time as confidence and respect are restored.”
Tsvangirai’s decision to disengage from the unity government is also based on ZANU-PF’s lack of commitment to fully resolve all issues and completely implement the Global Political Agreement (GPA).
“Instead, we have seen total abuse of and disrespect of the GPA and in particular the MDC,” said Tsvangirai. Bennett’s re-arrest ‘has brought home the self-evident fact that ZANU-PF sees us as a junior, fickle and unserious movement.”
A new trial date has not yet been set.
For more information, please see:
AllAfrica – Country in Crisis as MDC Cuts Off Contact with Zanu PF – 17 October 2009
CNN – Opposition Official’s Trial on Hold in Zimbabwe – 17 October 2009
Daily Nation – Trial of Tsvangirai Ally Put Off – 17 October 2009
VOA – Zimbabwe PM Tsvangirai ‘Disengages’ From ZANU-PF Governing Partner – 17 October 2009
Xinhua – Zimbabwean Prosecutors Put Off Bennett’s Terrorism Trial – 17 October 2009
