Africa News

Bail application for jailed Zimbabwe minister set for Friday

Oct 15, 2009, 13:00 GMT

Harare - A court in Zimbabwe will consider on Friday a bail application of minister appointee Roy Bennett - two days after his original bail on charges of terrorism was revoked. Bennett, a white former-farmer and a member of Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai's Movement for Democratic Change (MDC), is due to stand trial on October 19 on charges of possession of weapons with intent to commit banditry, insurgency and terrorism. The MDC says that the charges against Bennett are false. His bail was revoked on Wednesday, raising tensions within the coalition government of the MDC and President Robert Mugabe's Zanu-PF. Bennett's lawyer Harrison Nkomo said that Bennett had 'religiously' complied with all the bail terms and conditions set by the Supreme Court in March. 'He (Bennett) is not a flight risk, he is a businessman, a successful farmer and a politician as well as a minister designate,' said Nkomo. 'He is anxious to clear his name,' he added. The MDC has reacted angrily to Bennett's re-imprisonment, with party spokesman Nelson Chamisa calling it a 'serious abuse of the law which will affect the coalition government.' The MDC accuses the Mugabe-loyal attorney general's office of conspiring to keep Bennett, whose farm was seized by Zanu-PF loyalists during the country's controversial land reform campaign - out of be done.

Africa News

Bail application for jailed Zimbabwe minister set for Friday

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