The Zimbabwean prime minister said he must work with longtime Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe to try to reverse his country’s economic collapse, despite signs that factions in the Mugabe camp want to bring down the new coalition government.
Morgan Tsvangirai said on Saturday that the arrest of his aide Roy Bennett, who was to be sworn in as the deputy minister of agriculture, was an attempt to destroy the unity agreement.
Bennett was detained on Friday while Tsvangirai and Mugabe were presiding over the inauguration of senior Cabinet ministers.
Bennett, a well-known white lawmaker fluent in the local Shona language, had his coffee farm in eastern Zimbabwe seized years ago by ruling party supporters.
A pro-Mugabe newspaper resurrected a long-discredited claim on Saturday, reporting that Bennett was arrested because of an alleged plot from 2006 to overthrow Mugabe. Tsvangirai’s party said police told them Bennett would be charged with treason, which carries the death penalty.
On Saturday, the party said lawyers were able to see Bennett and that he had released a statement through them: “Whatever these challenges, if we remain unwaveringly dedicated, we will achieve peace, freedom and democracy in our life time — believe me.”
A deep gulf of mistrust resides between Mugabe’s ZANU-PF party and Tsvangirai’s Movement for Democratic Change party, bitter rivals pressured to work together by neighboring countries after disputed elections led to a political impasse.
Bennett’s arrest was a test for Tsvangirai, who had hesitated to join the government for fear he would be stuck with little power to affect change amid desperate calls for help by Zimbabweans.
Tsvangirai won the most votes in presidential elections last March, then dropped out of a June runoff because of state-sponsored violence against his supporters. Mugabe claimed victory even though international observers denounced the runoff as a sham.
Zimbabwe’s political leaders had been at an impasse ever since and the country’s economic collapse spiraled into a humanitarian disaster, prompting the two sides to join together.
Bennett’s arrest “undermines the spirit of our [unity] agreement,” Tsvangirai said on Saturday. “It is very important to maintain the momentum of our agreement.”
Tsvangirai said he had received assurances from the South African and Zimbabwean governments that Bennett was safe in custody — reports of torture in detention are common in Zimbabwe.
Tsvangirai counseled patience and said he was discussing the case with Mugabe.
“We have to budget for some residual resistance from those who see this deal as a threat to their interest,” said the former opposition leader, who in the past has been arrested by Mugabe’s government, beaten by police and also charged with treason.
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