Zimbabwe opposition leader cleared of treason

Zimbabwe opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai was cleared of treason today - charges that his party maintained all along were a bid by the government to frame him.

Judge Paddington Garwe, ruling in the Harare High Court, pronounced the Movement for Democratic Change leader innocent in a long-awaited judgement

The charges stemmed from state accusations that Tsvangirai, financed by Britain, plotted to kill President Robert Mugabe with the help of a Canada-based political consultant.

The charges were based on a grainy 4 1/2 hour video recorded by hidden cameras during a meeting between Tsvangirai and political consultant Ari Ben Menashe in Montreal in December 2001.

During his year-long trial, Tsvangirai’s defence lawyers said the tape had been doctored to implicate him in a plot to murder Mugabe and stage a military coup to seize power.

Tsvangirai denied involvement in any such plot but conceded he mentioned the “elimination” of Mugabe during discussions with Ben Menashe in reference only to Mugabe’s possible defeat in upcoming 2002 presidential polls and the possible formation of a new government.

Before the verdict, the opposition party described the treason case against its leader as “democracy on trial” under Mugabe’s repressive rule.

Testimony in the nation’s longest trial – also one of its most bizarre - covered a broad sweep of intrigue, from the secretly recorded meeting to tampering with evidence and even an alleged plan by former US President Bill Clinton, to be bankrolled by the Jewish community in the United States, to persuade Mugabe to leave office.

Ben Menashe claimed he had been tasked by the Clinton administration to negotiate a deal for Mugabe’s retirement.

State prosecutors themselves withdrew allegations earlier in the trial that Tsvangirai spoke with Ben Menashe of the ”murder” and “assassination” of Mugabe after the words could not be found on the secretly recorded tape.

Defence lawyer, South African George Bizos, a human rights lawyer and long-time legal advisor to Nelson Mandela, had submitted evidence that Ben Menashe was already working for the Zimbabwe government’s security agency on an operation to discredit the burgeoning opposition in Zimbabwe when Tsvangirai visited him in Montreal.

He said Tsvangirai had only sought the consultant’s help to raise funds and canvass for support for the Zimbabwe opposition in the United States and Canada.

The tape of their meeting was out of focus and barely audible.

Tsvangirai, freed on bail, had to surrender his passport after being charged two weeks before he ran against Mugabe in March 2002 presidential polls. He narrowly lost the election, which independent observers said was rigged.

His political activities were sharply curtailed by his lengthy appearances in the dock.

Ben Menashe, 52, who claims to have been a former Israeli intelligence agent and a security adviser to the Israeli prime minister, was acquitted by a US jury in 1990 of charges he illegally arranged a £20 million deal to sell US made military cargo planes to Iran in exchange for the release of four American hostages in the Middle East.

Israel denied he was connected to intelligence work but said he served for a brief period as a junior clerk in its civil service.

Tsvangirai’s defence said Ben Menashe’s frequently lied under oath while giving his evidence in order to cover up his efforts for the Zimbabwe Central Intelligence Organisation to entrap the opposition leader.

Evidence in the trial showed Ben Menashe received £350,000 from the Zimbabwe intelligence service.

Chief state prosecutor Bharat Patel, asking for a conviction at the conclusion of the trial in February, said there was still enough evidence to proving Tsvangirai plotted Mugabe’s assassination.