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Democracy under arrest in Zimbabwe

by Judi McLeod, Canadafreepress.com

November 3, 2004

Read Judi Mcleod's interview with Roy Bennet in august of 2002
With world attention focused on the american presidential race, ruling ZaNU-PF parliamentarians in Zimbabwe used their majority in the House to impose a one-year jail term of hard labour against opposition legislator Roy Bennet.

as noted by ZimOnline, that makes Bennet the first Zimbabwean to be sentenced outside the court process, and the country’s first Member of Parliament to ever be jailed over alleged contempt of parliament charges.

Bennet is alleged to have shoved Justice Minister Patrick Chinamassa during parliamentary debate last May, after the latter had referred to his ancestors as “murderers” and “thieves” who stole Zimbabe’s land from blacks.

Bennet’s arrest follows by only weeks, the acquittal of treason charges against Opposition Leader Morgan Tsvangirai, stemming from state accusations that he plotted to kill President Robert Mugabe with the help of a Canadian-based political consultant, ari Ben-Menashe.

“It is important that we are not lulled into any sense that the judiciary is impartial and accountable,” warned news@zvakwanaja in a communiqu following the acquittal. “The acquittal was orchestrated by the regime to make our country seem law abiding and democratic. The regime is desperate to be seen (as) upstanding, and to win favour with the Southern african Development Community (SaDC), the african Union (aU) and the international community ahead of next year’s election.”

Fifty-three ZaNU-PF members voted to commit Bennet to incarceration against 42 opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) legislators, who opposed the motion.

Bennet had appealed to the High Court well in advance of the October 28 vote in Parliament to have the prison term set aside.

But speaker of Parliament Emmerson Mnangagwa issued an order in terms of the Privileges, Immunities and Powers of Parliament act barring courts from hearing Bennet’s appeal.

Mnangagwa is a close ally of Mugabe.

One of only three white opposition members of Zimbabwe’s Parliament, Bennet was arrested at Harare International airport.

Scheduled to fly to South africa on a business trip and return to Zimbabwe the same day, Bennet denied police charges that he was fleeing the country. “I would rather go to jail if it pleases this regime than flee my country into exile,” he said.

The pain and emotional trauma inflicted on Roy Bennet by the Mugabe regime would make a blockbuster Hollywood movie.

Sent broke by the regime when his coffee farm, in the foothills of the Chimanimami Mountains in May of 2001 was invaded, he has been forced into a change of career. During the fracas, his wife Heather, who had a pistol held to her throat, miscarried their baby.

Most western countries, including the United States did not recognize Mugabe’s tantalizingly narrow March 2002 election victory.

In a country that is starving its own people, the arrest of Roy Bennet within weeks of the acquittal of Morgan Tsvangirai seems par for the course. There are those who would argue that democracy and the whole country has been under arrest.

Their plight below the media radar screen, the longsuffering people of Zimbabwe are owed more by the international community and especially by peace-touting Canada, which harbours ari Ben-Menashe, still conducting business with impunity from the City of Montreal.

Canada Free Press founding editor Most recent by Judi McLeod is an award-winning journalist with 30 years experience in the print media. Her work has appeared on Newsmax.com, Drudge Report, Foxnews.com, Glenn Beck. Judi can be reached at: judi@canadafreepress.com


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