MDC Director-General Shonhe detained for perjury

By Violet Gonda
16 June 2009

MDC Director General, Toendepi Shonhe was arrested on Tuesday on perjury charges in connection with the case of the three MDC activists Lloyd Tarumbwa, Fani Tembo and Terry Musona who were ‘taken’ by the state agents from their homes in Banket two weeks ago for interviews at the Attorney General’s Office. They are among the group of MDC activists abducted from their homes in Mashonaland West last year, and were kept incommunicado for several months.

The MDC CEO is accused of lying under oath when he swore to an affidavit that the three members of the MDC had been re-abducted two weeks ago by State security agents. He is being charged under the Criminal Law Act.

However, MDC Director of Information Luke Tamborinyoka told SW Radio Africa that these are trumped up charges, saying Shonhe wrote the affidavit to try to make a High Court interdict stopping the Attorney General’s Office from using the three people who had been re-abducted, as state witnesses.

Tamborinyoka said: “If the court wanted to subpoena these people to act as State witnesses it was supposed to do this civilly. You don’t just send CIO’s in unmarked vehicles to take people, threaten them, abduct them, bring out guns, and take them to the Attorney General’s office. There is an element of cohesion in this whole thing which means these people were abducted.”

The MDC official said the arrest of the Director General is very worrying especially at a time when Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai is trying to engage the international community. He said there are residual elements in ZANU PF who continue to violate people’s rights with impunity. “The MDC is trying to indicate left, ZANU PF here is indicating right – telling the whole world that nothing has changed in Zimbabwe,” Tamborinyoka said.

Tarumbwa, Tembo and Musona, were initially detained for more than four months without being charged. Tamborinyoka said despite being held as ‘so-called state witnesses,’ they were tortured and intimidated during their illegal incarceration. They are being forced to act as state witnesses in the case of another group of MDC activists who were accused of plotting to overthrow the Mugabe regime. The three were taken again when a group that includes Concillia Chinanzvavana and 70 year old Fidelis Chiramba were about to appear in court for their trial two weeks ago.