HARARE – Zimbabwean prime minister Morgan Tsvangirai’s ally Roy Bennett went on trial accused of terrorism yesterday in a case that has stoked tensions in the unity government of Mr Tsvangirai and Zimbabwean president Robert Mugabe’s Zanu-PF.
After initial arguments, the trial was adjourned to tomorrow by high court judge Muchineripi Bhunu to allow time to consider applications made by the state and defence.
Mr Bennett, whom Mr Tsvangirai wants to bring into the government, was arrested in February and charged with illegally possessing arms to commit acts of terrorism, banditry and insurgency, charges that carry a possible death penalty.
The state brought several cases of ammunition and rifles to be presented as evidence in the court in Harare yesterday. “This is a very serious matter which must be awarded the amount of seriousness it demands,” Zimbabwe’s attorney general, Johannes Tomana, told the court.
Judge Bhunu will rule tomorrow on a state application to dismiss Mr Bennett’s defence outline after state lawyers argued it was improperly presented. He will also rule on an application by the defence to stop a key state witness from testifying.
Prosecutors plan to call Peter Hitschmann, a former policeman in Ian Smith’s white-ruled Rhodesia, as a star witness. Defence lawyers argued Mr Hitschmann’s testimony would contradict an affidavit and statements he made to the court in 2006 and that he had also told his lawyer he was not prepared to be a state witness.
Mr Hitschmann was jailed in 2006 for illegal possession of weapons but the court threw out more serious terrorism charges. He was released in July this year.
“I have been persecuted since I joined politics and I have been living in persecution since then,” Mr Bennett told journalists as he left the court yesterday.
Mr Tsvangirai’s Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) says the case is politically motivated. The party briefly boycotted the unity government after Mr Bennett, a white former coffee farmer, was detained in prison following his indictment for trial.
Mr Bennett, the MDC treasurer, has denied the charges and the MDC says the case was designed to stop him from taking office as deputy agriculture minister.
Mr Mugabe says he does not oppose Mr Bennett becoming a minister but says he should be acquitted first. – (Reuters)