Tsvangirai case goes to Supreme Court

Zimbabwe's opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai, accused by the government of acts of terrorism, on Monday had his case transferred from the High Court to the Supreme Court in a decision that was expected to delay the case for at least a month. Tsvangirai was charged under Zimbabwe's draconian colonial-era Law and Order Maintenance Act (LOMA) for allegedly inciting terrorism. The prosecution's case hinges on remarks he made at a rally last year when he warned President Robert Mugabe that if he did not step down peacefully, "we will remove you violently." A conviction under LOMA carries a maximum penalty of life imprisonment, and would end Tsvangirai's presidential candidacy in elections next year. The government is exempt from prosecution under the Act. Tsvangirai's lawyers reportedly wanted the Supreme Court to hear the case in a bid to win a ruling that the issue was one of freedom of expression and that his constitutional rights had been infringed by the government. A leading Harare-based lawyer told IRIN that "the advantage of a Supreme Court hearing would be a determination at an early stage of whether the prosecution should proceed at all." According to a University of Zimbabwe political scientist Brian Raftopoulos, the court case against Tsvangirai forms part of a political strategy to neutralise his opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC). "The idea is to try and undermine the MDC before the presidential elections and harass the MDC leadership in the courts," he told IRIN. Raftopoulos added that the recent involvement of the pro-government war veterans in labour disputes in urban areas aimed at undermining the unions, a "fulcrum of MDC support", and the banning of foreign funding for political parties was also part of the government's anti-MDC pre-election campaign. "Clearly the MDC has lost some of its momentum - any party faced with the onslaught of the state as it has would," Raftopoulos said. But the "fight is far from over and they have a chance to regroup," although he acknowledged the fear and frustration felt by some Zimbabweans as a result of government-led political violence. He added that any attempt by MDC to re-energise its political campaign would be met by a harsh response from the government.