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Political persecution of Bennett gone too far
Movement
for Democratic Change
September
17, 2010
The latest malicious
attempt by the police to arrest the MDC Treasurer-General and deputy
Agriculture minister-designate, Senator Roy Bennett is a well-orchestrated
political persecution and victimisation of the MDC. Police officers
from the Law and Order Section have for the past two weeks been
hunting for Bennett on yet to be established set of trumped-up charges.
What is more worrying is that the police officers are refusing to
state their agenda on why they want to arrest Hon. Bennett. However,
what is clear is that Senator Bennett has no case to answer and
the attempt by the police to incarcerate him is only politically
motivated.
The reason why
the police are not divulging the reasons why Senator Bennett is
being sought for is obviously meant to justify his arrest so that
he remains in custody under the draconian and abused Section 121
of the Criminal
Procedure and Evidence Act. The intention to arrest Senator
Bennett is a malicious plot hatched by certain rogue elements in
Zanu PF including the disgraced Attorney-General Johannes Tomana
who are against his swearing-in of Senator Bennett as deputy Agriculture
minister two years after the signing of the GPA.
It is no wonder that
the persecution of Hon. Bennett has now reached alarming and ridiculous
levels and is raising a lot of unnecessary eyebrows to the detriment
to of the health of the inclusive government. The MDC wonders why
the police and the AG are keen to arrest Senator Bennett and other
MDC members at will, while ignoring known Zanu PF officials and
supporters who have been implicated in political violence, which
led to the death of over 500 MDC members in 2008.
It is known that since
2004, Zanu PF has been harassing and arresting Senator Bennett on
trumped-up and frivolous charges simply because he is fighting for
real change and for democracy in Zimbabwe. As a party we feel that
the continued attacks on Senator Bennett and other MDC supporters,
especially in the rural areas are likely to threaten the life and
spirit of the inclusive government.
The MDC feels that the
continued attacks on Senator Bennett and MDC supporters, especially
in the rural areas are likely to threaten the life and spirit of
the loveless coalition called the inclusive government. The MDC
calls for an immediate stop to the continued harassment of Senator
Bennett and that he must be sworn-in as the deputy Agriculture minister
so that he gets down to work in breathing a new life to the ailing
agriculture sector.
Editors'
Note:
Robert Mugabe's
former regime, since 24 August 2001, maintained a hardline onslaught
and a ceaseless attack on Roy Bennett, the MDC Treasurer-General,
for his support for real change. Marauding gangs of Zanu PF youths
besieged his home to cow him from supporting and spearheading the
cause of the ordinary Zimbabwean. The High Court on 30 occasions
ruled on Bennett's innocence and pronounced Mugabe's
behaviour as out of step with normal behaviour regarding civilised
norms of governance.
He was jailed
twice; at one point at a filthy Mutoko prison for an innocuous scuffle
with Patrick Chinamasa of Zanu PF during a parliamentary debate
in which Bennett was personally provoked as a rapist and colonial
relic. He left Zimbabwe for his safety only to find himself targeted
again in a trial the High Court dismissed as frivolous and vexatious.
For more
details kindly contact Nelson Chamisa, MP, the Secretary for Information
and Publicity at the MDC Head Office in Harare on 263 4 770708,
website address; www.mdc.co.zw
Please credit www.kubatana.net if you make use of material from this website.
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons License unless stated otherwise.
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