Tsvangirai Faction Officials Arrested in Assault on Opposition Members
Party spokesman says four of those arrested were let go due to lack of evidence
Police have arrested opposition Member of Parliament for Mabvuku Timothy Mubhawu of the Movement for Democratic Change faction led by Morgan Tsvangirai in connection with the July 2 assault of Harare North Member of Parliament Trudy Stevenson and others in the opposition faction led by Arthur Mutambara. The lawyer representing Mubhawu said that the MDC legislator presented himself at Harare Central Police Station this afternoon for questioning and was then arrested. Attorney Alec Muchadehama gave the details of the arrest to Patience Rusere of VOA’s Studio 7 for Zimbawe. Meanwhile, a spokesman for the Tsvangirai faction of the MDC said four other members, arrested late last week on suspicion of playing a role in the attack, were released on Saturday. Party spokesman Nelson Chamisa said the four were let go because of a lack of evidence. He disputed a report in the state-controlled Herald newspaper that faction members Tonderai Ndira, Tererai Todini, Ernest Gengezha and Tendai Chidziva, were to appear in court today. Patience Rusere of VOA’s Studio 7 for Zimbabwe spoke to Chamisa who charged that the arrests were aimed at tarnishing the image of his Movement for Democratic Change faction. While Ndira confirmed that police have released him, spokesman Gabriel Chaibva of the Mutambara MDC faction said that to the best of his information all those arrested remained in custody. In a conversation with Patience Rusere he dismissed Chamisa’s charges that the arrests were politically motivated. Attempts to obtain comment from the police were unsuccessful.