The arrest of Prime Minister Tsvangirai was discussed in Tuesday’s cabinet
meeting, government insiders told The Daily Telegraph.
On Wednesday, Augustine Chihuri, the Zimbabwean
chief of police, is understood to have visited the offices of the
state-controlled Zimbabwe Broadcasting Corporation to collect a recording of
Mr Tsvangirai’s allegedly contemptuous comments.
Mr Chihuri is a member of the feared Joint Operational Command, the military
junta which remained under Mr Mugabe’s command when the coalition deal was
struck in 2009. He is believed to be increasingly taking power as the
87-year-old dictator’s health declines.
In the past month, more than 100 activists and politicians of Mr Tsvangirai’s
Movement for Democratic Change have been arrested, including Elton Mangoma,
the Energy Minister.
Mr Mangoma was detained over an allegedly fraudulent fuel deal struck with a
South African firm last January, when Zimbabwe was facing a fuel shortage.
The same day as Mr Mangoma’s arrest, the Supreme Court annulled the 2008
election as Speaker of Parliament of Lovemore Moyo, the MDC’s Chairman, over
what it said were voting irregularities.
After the verdict, a visibly angry Mr Tsvangirai was quoted as saying: "We
will not accept the decisions of some Zanu PF politicians masquerading as
judges. Zanu PF is trying to use the courts to subvert and regain what it
lost in an election."
Jonathan Moyo, an ally of Mr Mugabe, said that Mr Tsvangirai had opened
himself up to "a clear and unambiguous risk of prosecution".
Commentators say that the plan to arrest Mr Tsvangirai is part of a concerted
effort to force him to quit the coalition, allowing Zanu PF party to call
early elections and force Mr Mugabe back into office using the voter
intimidation and violence seen in previous polls.
