By Staff Reporter
Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai’s new wife Elizabeth Macheka on Wednesday visited the 29 MDC-T members in remand prison facing what they party believe are ‘trumped up’ charges of murdering a policeman in Glen View last year.
Mrs Tsvangirai’s first port of call was Chikurubi Maximum Security Prison where Solomon Madzore, the Youth Assembly chairperson, Last Maengahama, a National Executive member and eight other members are detained.
However, some overzealous prison officers tried to prevent Mai Tsvangirai from seeing the MDC members. It took the intervention of Senator Obert Gutu, the Deputy Minister of Justice and Legal Affairs for her to be allowed in.
The prison officers refused Mai Tsvangirai to give the members food that she had brought for them as they claimed that they had received communication from the parent ministry for inmates not to receive food from outside.
Mai Tsvangirai however, failed to see other two members as they are admitted in the prison hospital. The two are; Gapara Nyamadzawo and Phineas Nhatarikwa.
The Prime Minister’s wife was accompanied by the Minister of Home Affairs, Theresa Makone, Senator Gutu, the Deputy Minister of Information, Media and Publicity, Murisi Zwizwai and Chikomo Senator, Morgan Femai.
Later in the day, Mai Tsvangirai visited Harare Remand Prison where the other members are detained. She prayed and encouraged them to remain focused as “their illegal detention will soon pass.
The MDC-T members in turn “thanked Mai Tsvangirai for paying them the visit and asked her to pass a congratulatory message to President Tsvangirai on the MDC turning 13 years,” a party statement read.
The party last Saturday celebrated its 13th anniversary at a colourful event held at the White City Stadium in Bulawayo. The celebrations were attended by over 30 000 supporters. They are optimistic that the activists in prison “will be released soon and continue with the struggle to bring real change.”
Their ruling on a bail application made last month is expected to be heard by Justice Chinembiri Bhunu at the High Court on Monday. Some of the MDC-T members have been in remand prison for 17 months awaiting trial.
The MDC-T’s position is that the continued detention of the MDC members is illegal and has already demanded their immediate release. The father and brother of the murdered policeman have already accused Zanu PF and state security agents of committing the murder to gain political mileage.
