Police Release Zimbabwe Lawmaker, HIV-Transmission Charges Dropped
MDC lawmaker Siyabonga Malandu Ncube was arrested Tuesday on a complain by a female journalist that he infected her with HIV
An official of the Movement for Democratic Change formation led by Industry Minister Welshman Ncube, Malandu told VOA the accusations were politically motivated and that he would sue for defamation A member of the Zimbabwean Parliament arrested on Tuesday on charges he knowingly communicated the AIDS virus to a journalist with a Bulawayo newspaper was freed on Wednesday by authorities who did not bring formal charges. Siyabonga Malandu Ncube, who represents the Insiza South constituency in Matabeleland South, will now be charged with sending abusive text messages to his former female companion, a reporter with the pro-ZANU-PF Chronicle newspaper. An official of the Movement for Democratic Change formation led by Industry Minister Welshman Ncube, Malandu told VOA the accusations were politically motivated. He said the HIV transmission charges will be formally tossed out for lack of evidence. Malandu told VOA Studio 7 reporter Ntungamili Nkomo he tested HIV-negative in late 2010, more than a year after he had broken up with the journalist. He added that he intends to bring suit against his accuser for defamation. "This girl is being used by my political enemies to destroy me. But that will not happen. After this, I will be consulting my lawyers on a course of action to take against her," he said.