Wife’s anger at arrest of husband Roy Bennett.

By Violet Gonda
17 February 2009

Roy Bennett, the MDC Treasurer and Deputy Minister of Agriculture designate, had the book thrown at him on Tuesday when he was formally charged under the draconian Public Order and Security Act with terrorism, the illegal possession of fire arms and attempting to leave the country illegally.

Bennett’s wife Heather spoke for the first time since her husband was arrested last Friday. She told SW Radio Africa she is very disappointed with South Africa and SADC for failing to pressure Robert Mugabe. She also called on Morgan Tsvangirai to pull out of the power share, if Bennett is not immediately released.

Speaking on the phone from her home in South Africa she said this is a litmus test and “if Morgan Tsvangirai has no power to protect his top leadership, the rest of the country is in big trouble because nothing is going to change.”

The official’s wife said the MDC leadership told her that her husband’s case was a sensitive issue and they are working very hard to resolve it. “But I am not a politician and to me it’s very simple. You have just signed an agreement and already it’s being abused, so pull out of it!”

Mrs Bennett said she was very worried when her husband decided to go back home to Zimbabwe after fleeing to South Africa in 2006. But he was eager and hopeful that SADC would stand by the agreement to be guarantors of the new government. She said Morgan Tsvangirai had given Bennett assurances that he would be fine.

But Mrs Bennett is now concerned that the leadership is not doing enough and worried that history is repeating itself. In 2004 Bennett spent eight months in jail after clashing with ZANU PF Justice Minister Patrick Chinamasa in parliament.

“We have been there before with Roy, where ZANU PF does what they please and they just carry on holding him on trumped up charges. And to me unless someone does something really soon it will drag on and on.”

“If they get away with this Morgan Tsvangirai may as well not even be there because they will walk all over him. And unless he shows the leadership now it is going to be a waste of time having an inclusive government anyway.”

Meanwhile, the Deputy Minister of Agriculture designate was on Tuesday formally charged under the draconian Public Order and Security Act. The matter was heard by Mutare Magistrate, Billard Musakwa, who is alleged to be a ZANU PF zealot. He granted police a further warrant of detention for 48 hours on Monday without hearing submissions of the defence. However the matter was adjourned after the defence team successfully applied for the recusal of Magistrate Musakwa, and a new Magistrate heard the matter in the afternoon.

The State claims Bennett was in possession of firearms with the intention of committing terrorism, banditry and sabotage and failed to present himself to immigration officers at Charles Prince airport. The MDC official was arrested at the airport while he was attempting to travel to South Africa. The small aircraft, with seven other passengers, was ordered to stop during take-off on the runway. The defence team said their client presented himself to the immigration officer at the airport and ‘has a copy of the manifesto, as well as the immigration officers list to prove it’.

In early February Bennett had returned to Zimbabwe from South Africa where he was living in exile with his family as a result of the same ‘terrorism’ charges. In his defence he says he was on his way back to South Africa to visit his family and was going to return later in the week, in time for the swearing in of Deputy Ministers in the new government. The MDC official denies all the charges and says this is clearly nothing more than political persecution.

Meanwhile, there was near mayhem at the Mutare courts when scores of Bennett supporters who had been holding a vigil since his incarceration last Friday, forced their way into the court chambers. MDC MP for Makoni South, Pishai Muchauraya, said the protestors broke through a court gate after the police tried to block the entrance. He said the courtroom was packed with the supporters who have vowed to continue with the vigil until their leader is released.

It has been suggested that there are elements in ZANU PF who are unhappy with the power sharing government, hence Bennett’s arrest and the continued imprisonment of civic and political activists in violation of the global political agreement.

It’s reported that at the forefront of trying to scuttle this deal is the Joint Operations Command, ZANU PF’s security apparatus, who boycotted Tsvangirai’s inauguration as Prime Minister last week. But analysts have warned that the rumours of JOC’s control are quite detailed and are more than likely being spread by the CIO, and Mugabe has always held very tightly onto control of what happens in Zimbabwe.

An MDC source, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said ZANU PF is also making wild demands, wanting total amnesty dating back to the 1980s, in exchange for Bennett’s freedom. The source said: “Now they are using Roy as a bargaining chip to get further concessions”

The source said the concessions include the fact that there should be no human rights investigations or prosecutions, no extradition of Ethiopia's former ruler Mengistu Haile Mariam, and Reserve Bank Governor Gideon Gono and Attorney General Johannes Tomana must maintain their positions.

Although we could not get a direct comment from the MDC on this issue, the party said this in a statement on Tuesday: “These charges are scandalous and politically motivated. Roy Bennett will not be used as ransom and he will not accept to be horse traded for any political convenience”

The new Minister of Finance Tendai Biti was quoted in the South African media threatening ‘unspecified’ action if Bennett is not released on Tuesday. But Bennett was remanded in custody Tuesday and moved from Mutare police station to Mutare prison. The magistrate is expected to make a ruling on the matter on Wednesday.

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