Mugabe accuses Tsvangirai of treason

Zimbabwe’s government today accused opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai of treason by plotting with Britain to remove president Robert Mugabe.

The state-run Herald newspaper claimed to have a letter between Gordon Brown and Mr Tsvangirai outlining the plan.

Mr Tsvangirai’s Movement for Democratic Change party has dismissed it as a forgery.

The Herald said Mr Brown promised Mr Tsvangirai that he would “make sure that a solution to the ongoing crisis in Zimbabwe is reached and your electoral success is respected.”

“Tsvangirai along with Brown are seeking an illegal regime change in Zimbabwe, and on the part of Tsvangirai, this is treasonous,” The Herald quoted Justice Minister Patrick Chinamasa as saying.

Chinamasa lost his seat in the elections in which Mugabe’s ruling party lost control of Parliament for the first time.

Mr Tsvangirai has been charged with treason before. In 2003, he was acquitted of charges in an alleged plot to assassinate Mugabe. Mr Tsvangirai called the 18-month trial an attempt to frame him and fellow opposition leaders.

The accusation came as the government continued a campaign of arrests, assaults and other intimidation designed to suppress political dissent following the March 29 election that Mugabe is widely believed to have lost.

Zimbabweans have been waiting nearly three weeks for results of the presidential vote as riot police and security forces have deployed across the country in a show of force.

Independent counts suggest Tsvangirai won, but not with enough votes to avoid a second ballot. The opposition say they won outright.

At the United Nations yesterday, the US and Britain backed a suggestion from UN Secretary General Ban Ki moon to send UN observers to monitor any presidential run-off.

Zimbabwe refused to allow Western observers to monitor last month’s elections, inviting only “friendly” countries including a Southern African Development Community team led by a junior minister from Angola – a country that has not had elections since 1992.

Zimbabwe’s government also warned today that it will revoke the licences of any transport drivers who heed an opposition call to strike for the release of election results.

With Zimbabwe’s economy devastated by soaring inflation and 80% unemployment, the opposition has had difficulty getting the few Zimbabweans with jobs to join the nationwide strike.

But The Herald quoted Transport Minister Chris Mushowe as saying some public buses had stopped running, “deliberately withdrawing their services since Monday.”

Zimbabwe’s electoral commission says it is verifying votes and investigating anomalies, but the opposition says Mugabe is using the delay to secure his 28-year grip on power.

Mr Tsvangirai later said Mugabe's continued abuses meant he may have to face justice.

Previously Mr Tsvangirai has said he would not be interested in a “witch hunt” against Mugabe because it would distract a new government from Zimbabwe’s economic and political crises.

But today he said he is now no longer so ready to “forgive” Mugabe.