Star witness changes testimony

THE star prosecution witness in the treason trial of opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai, admitted yesterday the Zimbabwe government asked him to find evidence of a plot to kill President Robert Mugabe.

Ari Ben Menashe changed his earlier testimony, saying he went along with a coup and murder plan allegedly proposed by Tsvangirai and secretly recorded a meeting with the opposition leader to get evidence for the government. He added that this was not intended to entrap Tsvangirai. “We were collecting evidence for the Zimbabwe government,” he told the Harare High Court.

Originally, Ben Menashe claimed he videoed the December 4 2001 meeting with Tsvangirai to corroborate a previous verbal request for help to assassinate Mugabe.

Yesterday Ben Menashe denied his aim was to “compromise” Tsvangirai and his opposition party after being hired by Zimbabwe security authorities.

Tsvangirai and two senior opposition politicians deny treason charges and say Ben Menashe framed them. They face the death penalty if convicted.