Mugabe foe due in court on treason charge

Zimbabwe’s main opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai goes on trial today charged with plotting to kill President Robert Mugabe.

Tsvangirai, the 50-year-old leader of the Movement for Democratic Change (MDC), denies the claims. Two of his associates are also charged.

Opposition officials believe the case against him has been concocted by the government to keep Tsvangirai out of politics.

If found guilty of plotting the president’s death, he could be executed.

The former trade union leader is expected to use his trial to highlight human rights abuses by Mugabe’s government – further raising tensions ahead of the arrival of England’s cricket team for the cricket World Cup.

Tsvangirai was the only serious contender to Mugabe during last March’s presidential elections. Mugabe won the vote, but Britain, the EU and the US said the polls were far from free or fair.

Tsvangirai says the treason charges, which are based on a questionable video-tape allegedly showing him discussing Mugabe’s “elimination” with a political consultant, were fabricated.

His deputy, Welshman Ncube, and another senior MDC member, Renson Gasela, are also facing treason charges.

The allegations against Tsvangirai were made by a Canadian political consultancy, Dickens and Madson, which is headed by former Israeli intelligence officer and Mugabe lobbyist Ari Ben-Menashe.

The video, which has been shown repeatedly on Zimbabwean state TV, appears to have been heavily edited, government critics have said.

Tsvangirai will be represented in the Harare court by South African lawyer George Bizos, who defended Nelson Mandela nearly 40 years ago. Mandela was sent to prison – despite Bizos’ efforts.

The trial comes a week before the first of six World Cup cricket matches are due to be played in Zimbabwe.

Several countries – including Britain and Australia – have expressed concerns over whether the tournament should be held in the country, which is gripped by political unrest and on the brink of famine in many areas.