Fears of SA security collusion as MDC activist arrested in Joburg

By Tichaona Sibanda
15 December, 2005

A well-known militant opposition activist based in South Africa, Remember Moyo is facing deportation from that country after he was arrested on Tuesday in deeply suspicious circumstances. Moyo, who was picked up by the elite police unit the Scorpions, was apparently locked up the day the Zimbabwe government released the South African spy Aubray Welken under a bilateral defense and security cooperation agreement between the two countries.
ZASG vice-chairman Rodgers Mudarikwa claimed from Johannesburg that Moyo’s arrest could be strongly linked to the security and defence pact signed between Zimbabwe and South Africa. ‘We could be wrong but we strongly believe that part of the agreement was for the South African government to silence critics of Robert Mugabe here. The timing of his arrest is also suspicious,’ said Mudarikwa.
Mudarikwa said officials from the Home Affairs ministry have been too scared to intervene, raising suspicions that the case is being dealt with by people at the top.
Moyo was however released from Booysens police station, Johannesburg on 2000 rand (US$300) bail on Thursday. He was represented at the hearing by a team of human rights lawyers. Moyo is being charged with using false South African identity documents, but it is believed he is a target because of the role he played in exposing the corrupt criminal activities of the South African police.
Moyo applied for and was granted refugee status in that country in February this year. He has been a thorny figure in government circles in Johannesburg after he exposed, in a sting operation, corrupt activities against Zimbabwe refugees by members of the police force.