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'We didn't arrest Tsvangirai'
The Herald (Zimbabwe)
June 06, 2008

http://allafrica.com/stories/200806060010.html?viewall=1

Police have dismissed as false claims by MDC-T leader Morgan Tsvangirai that he was arrested and detained by security agents in Matabeleland North on Wednesday afternoon.

The opposition leader reportedly told the Western media that he had been detained by police for about nine hours and was only released after "signing an official police caution", with his party claiming the "arrest" was a Government attempt to paralyze his run-off campaign.

Tsvangirai's "detention" was roundly condemned by the United States, Britain, Germany and Amnesty International.

However, chief police spokesperson Assistant Commissioner Wayne Bvudzijena yesterday said Tsvangirai's convoy was stopped at a routine roadblock in Lupane where it was found that one of the vehicles did not have proper registration.

He said the vehicle in question was South African-registered and the driver failed to produce the relevant papers to show that the car was in Zimbabwe legally.

The driver was asked to accompany the police officers to the nearest police station whereupon Tsvangirai's entire convoy, which had been cleared to proceed, decided to follow the driver.

"He (the driver) produced photocopies of documents, yet the legal requirement is to produce original documents.

"The driver was subsequently asked to accompany the police to the nearest police station and the whole convoy decided to escort him.

"The driver was interviewed at the station after which the car was impounded and everyone left the police station. No one was ever arrested or detained.

"We are keeping the vehicle until we can verify how and where it entered the country," Asst Comm Bvudzijena said.

The chief police spokesperson added: "There is this insinuation that the force is stopping certain people from carrying out their political activities and campaigns. I want to reiterate that the police have nothing to do with this.

"However, where there is reasonable suspicion that a crime has been committed, we are obliged to investigate and that is what we do as per our constitutional mandate."

MDC-T spokesperson Nelson Chamisa had earlier told some sections of the media that the opposition leader had been arrested.

Asst Comm Bvudzijena said on Wednesday, routine searches at police roadblocks resulted in the arrest of three suspected MDC-T supporters in Matabeleland who were carrying weapons suspected to have been used or destined for use in acts of political violence.

"We have set up security roadblocks across the whole country and on Wednesday we arrested three suspected MDC-T supporters in Matabeleland who were in possession of sjamboks, catapults and knobkerries. As you are aware, these are weapons that are predominantly used for political violence," he said.

He said investigations were in progress and police would continue to arrest perpetrators of political violence.

Meanwhile, British and United States diplomats were yesterday questioned and released by police at a roadblock in Mazowe after a high-speed chase from Bindura where they had strayed beyond the stipulated travel radius.

Asst Comm Bvudzijena said the officials, travelling in three vehicles with diplomatic registration number plates, had driven off at high speed when police approached them while parked in Chipadze suburb.

He said police had received information that a group of about 10 people were in the suburb area around 10am and went to investigate.

Asst Comm Bvudzijena said when the police arrived at the scene, they discovered the vehicles that had diplomatic registration number plates and they asked the occupants to identify themselves.

"Instead of identifying themselves, the occupants in two of the vehicles decided to drive off towards Trojan Mine while the third vehicle drove off along the Harare-Bindura Road," he said.

The third vehicle was stopped at a roadblock in Mazowe.

Asst Comm Bvudzijena said the speeding vehicle almost ran over some police officers manning the roadblock.

The vehicle, he said, bumped into another car when the driver was reversing in a bid to flee.

He said the police approached the car and asked the occupants to identify themselves.

Instead of co-operating, Asst Comm Bvudzijena said the occupants shut all the windows and locked the doors, prompting the officers to deflate the tyres.

One of the vehicles that had taken the Trojan Mine direction arrived at the roadblock a few minutes later where it was stopped and the Police questioned the occupants before releasing them.

"The situation was amicably resolved and they were allowed to go," he said adding that the purpose of the diplomats' visit to Bindura was still unknown by last night.

Asst Comm Bvudzijena said there were a number of roadblocks countrywide meant to curtail the movement of weapons being used in political violence.

"We are surprised that the diplomats fled from Chipadze when they were asked to identify themselves by the police. In essence, they were reducing themselves to common criminals because if they had identified themselves there would have been no problems," he said.

Asst Comm Bvudzijena urged people to co-operate with the police.

"Being in a vehicle with a CD registration number plate does not necessarily give an identification of the individual in the vehicle," he said.

The incident comes barely a month after US Ambassador to Zimbabwe James McGee's escapade in Mashonaland Central where he led a group of other diplomats.

McGee also went beyond the 40km radius from his station without notifying the Ministry of Foreign Affairs as stipulated by the Vienna Convention.

A day earlier, McGee had written a letter to the media, making unsubstantiated claims that Zanu-PF was torturing MDC-T supporters and threatening the State with violence should the opposition form the next government.

McGee had also made politically charged and inflammatory remarks when he visited alleged victims at the Avenues Clinic in Harare on May 9.

On Monday, US State Department spokesman Mr Sean McCormack said his government was "going to continue to speak out . . . to be a voice and beacon for freedom" in Zimbabwe ahead of the June 27 presidential run-off.

Mr McCormack, who was speaking at the department's daily Press briefing in US, had been asked if the United States had a contingency plan to monitor conditions inside Zimbabwe if government made "good on its threats to throw US Ambassador to Zimbabwe Mr James D. McGee out of the country".

"We have a whole embassy of people who are focused either in whole or in part on issues in this election. We are going to continue to speak out. We are going to continue to be a voice and beacon for freedom," Mr McCormack said.

President Mugabe recently warned McGee that he is one wrong step away from expulsion if he continues meddling in Zimbabwe's internal affairs.

The President, who was speaking at the launch of his run-off campaign at Zanu-PF headquarters on May 25, said McGee should learn from other ambassadors, including Zimbabwe's Ambassador to Washington, Cde Machivenyika Mapuranga, who abided by and respected the Vienna Conventions on Diplomatic Relations and the laws of the host nation.

Foreign Affairs Minister Cde Simbarashe Mumbengegwi summoned and read McGee the riot act on May 14 over his continued dabbling in opposition politics.

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