Attorney General to ‘formally’ charge Biti with treason

By Tichaona Sibanda
26 June 2009

There are reports that the Attorney General is ready to formally charge Finance Minister Tendai Biti with treason, and to also arrest Economic Planning Minister Elton Mangoma on kidnapping charges, SW Radio Africa has been told.

A highly placed source in the MDC told us on Friday that Johannes Tomana, under instruction from some members of ZANU PF, has already crafted the indictment charge sheet and was waiting for Biti to return from London before formally laying charges against him.

Biti returned to Harare on Wednesday after a few days in Brussels and London as part of Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai’s delegation. The Finance Minister, who is also the secretary general of the MDC, confirmed to SW Radio Africa about the plot. ‘Yes I’ve heard of the plan (arrest) from reliable sources but I can’t comment any further,’ Biti said.

The state first laid the treason charges against Biti last year, for allegedly authoring a document said to have contained details of a plot to ‘fix’ the election outcome. Biti denies the allegations and maintains charges against him were politically motivated.

Authorities last year April produced a secret document, alleged to have been drafted by Biti, showing how teachers employed by the electoral commission had agreed to overstate the MDC votes, in return for payment. The document has already been discredited and most analysts point a finger towards the agents of the Central Intelligence Agency for drafting it.

After several court appearances last year, and with the state seemingly losing its case against Biti, the AG’s office agreed to remove him from bail and said they would proceed with the case by way of summons.
A source at Harvest House, the headquarters of the MDC, said in simple terms the re-arrest of Biti and Mangoma, two key members of government spearheading the economic revival of the country, would surely signal the end of the Inclusive Government.

Not much is known about the Mangoma kidnapping allegation, but the Makoni North MP and MDC deputy treasurer-general, has been arrested on countless occasions in the last two years. On all occasions he has been released without being charged.

‘In simple, this will be the end of the Inclusive Government, surely because one would be hard pressed to justify why we should continue to be part of the ‘half fish-half human’ government,’ our source said.

Political analyst Glen Mpani warned that the consequences of such arrests would be costly, and unimaginable.

‘The plot to arrest Biti and Mangoma is ample evidence all is not well in the inclusive government. What it simply shows is that the hardliners will stop at nothing to try and ensure that they entrap those they consider to be the key pillars in the sustenance of the life of the MDC,’ Mpani said.