‘Arrest of MDC treasurer will undermine inclusive govt’

COMMENT - " ‘Arrest of MDC treasurer will undermine inclusive govt’ " - Hmmm..., even though 'the MDC treasurer' is a scumbag who should have been hanged at indpendence, and who was caught with an arms cache, which is about how the Gukurahundi affair got started? Why would this individual be let anywhere near power? But then, the Bush administration in Haiti abducted a priest and instated the country's most prominent drug smuggler and the head of the death squads because unlike the priest, they were 'acceptable' to them.

‘Arrest of MDC treasurer will undermine inclusive govt’
Written by Kingsley Kaswende in Harare
Tuesday, February 17, 2009 4:45:41 PM

PRIME Minister Morgan Tsvangirai has said the arrest of MDC treasurer general Roy Bennett will undermine the country's inclusive government, whose inaugural Cabinet meeting is expected today.

Bennett, who was expected to be sworn in as the agriculture deputy minister in the inclusive government, was arrested last Friday hours before the swearing-in ceremony and charged with treason.

He was picked up in Mount Hampden, just outside Harare, at Charles Prince Airport by police as he was about to fly to South Africa after he learnt that he was being sought.

Bennett was briefly detained at Marondera Police Station before being taken to Mutare Police Station, where he was later charged for his part in an alleged 2006 plot to overthrow Robert Mugabe.

The charges stem from an alleged plot to assassinate President Mugabe in which one of the alleged conspirators, Michael Peter Hitschmann, was jailed after weapons that were allegedly to be used in the plot were found concealed at his farm.

Prime Minister Tsvangirai on Sunday blamed Bennett's arrest on "factions who want to destroy the country's coalition government."

Tsvangirai said Bennett, who was granted asylum in South Africa after he sneaked into that country to escape arrest, only travelled to Zimbabwe because his safety had been guaranteed.

"Roy's safety was guaranteed by the South African and Zimbabwean governments and his arrest ...raises a lot of concerns as it undermines the spirit of the agreement," he said.

The MDC says Tsvangirai is trying to meet with President Mugabe to discuss Bennett's arrest. Meanwhile, the first inclusive government Cabinet meeting is expected to be held today.

The meeting is expected to welcome new members as well as discuss the positions of governor of the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe and the Attorney General, among other matters.

President Mugabe said immediately following the swearing-in of Cabinet ministers on Friday that the first Cabinet meeting would be held on Tuesday.

"We have a lot to talk about and discuss when we meet next week. We have a Cabinet meeting on Tuesday. There are some of us who come into this government without experience, but have better ideas," said President Mugabe.

"Let us know each other and more so that we have faith and great confidence in each other. We should vow never to let the people down as they see in us good and honest people who will work hard so that they, the region and continent are proud of us."