Kambuzuma MDC legislator charged under POSA

By Tichaona Sibanda
07 July 2006

Willas Madzimure, the MDC legislator for Kambuzuma in Harare, was on Wednesday charged by the police for allegedly inciting people to revolt against the Robert Mugabe regime.

Madzimure who denies all charges handed himself in to the police at Harare Central where officers from the law and order section questioned him for more than six hours.

Speaking to us from Harare Friday, the legislator who is aligned to the Tsvangirai MDC faction said his detention Wednesday was a clear case of ‘bullying tactics’ by the police.

‘I was made to sign a warned and cautioned statement after which I was charged under section 23 of POSA. The docket has now been sent to the Attorney General for perusal and I will only be notified of the court date in due course.”

The charges arise from a rally the MP addressed in Dzivarasekwa last month as part of a feedback programme to update their supporters on the course of action their party was likely to take after their March congress.
During the rally, Madzimure explained to the people how the party had resolved to adopt a democratic resistance programme to get rid of the Mugabe regime.

‘At no time did I tell people to revolt against the government. These were resolutions from the congress and I was merely passing on the message. What surprises me is that even on the police docket, the officer who prepared it even mentions that I told the people to be peaceful during the demonstrations and not to engage in any form of violence. Now is that inciting or restraining people,’ asked Madzimure.

The MP reiterated that the arrest was part of an orchestrated campaign to intimidate the opposition ahead of the planned mass protests.