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Tendai Biti, vice president of Zimbabwe’s main MDC opposition alliance, denies charges of assaulting a Russian national.
Zimbabwean police briefly arrested a former finance minister and senior opposition alliance official on Friday night on charges of assaulting a Russian national last month, her party spokeswoman said.
Tendai Biti, 53, was released on $ 10,000 bond Saturday after a night behind bars after being charged with assault.
Harare Provincial Chief Magistrate Vongai Muchuchuti set his trial for January 18.
The charge against Biti, a lawmaker and vice chairman of Zimbabwe’s opposition alliance, the Movement for Democratic Change (MDC), is related to an alleged incident after a court hearing on November 30.
Biti, who is also a qualified attorney, was involved in litigation, representing a client in the Harare airport highway scandal, Tatiana Aleshina, a Russian national, who was allegedly constantly whispering information to the prosecution.
Biti made a complaint to the magistrate about Aleshina’s conduct.
“After the court hearing, Aleshina confronted the honorable Biti by threatening him not to mention her name,” MDC spokeswoman Fadzai Mahere told AFP news agency, adding that she later filed a police report.
He was arrested when he went to the police to clear his name, Mahere added.
“Biti’s only crime is unearthing the corruption scandal related to the Harare Airport Road land deal involving the plaintiff, Aleshina, and businessmen linked to [President] Emmerson Mnangagwa “.
In court, prosecutor Idah Maromo argued that Biti had assaulted Aleshina by threatening her, pointing a finger at her face and shouting insults at the top of her lungs, “with the intention of instilling fear into her mind to believe.”
Biti denied the charge and his party described it as “fabricated” and an “weapon of law” to attack party members and officials.
His lawyer, Alec Muchadehama, also said that the Zimbabwe police “were not working on their own.”
“There is an external force telling them what to do and who to arrest,” he said.
The opposition alliance MDC said on Twitter that Biti had been detained “on false charges.”
“His arrest and prosecution are a diversionary tactic by the regime to detract from his exposure of the corrupt Airport Rd scandal. VP Biti did not attack anyone,” he said.
Below are the charge sheet and state outline in the “assault” case against VP @BitiTendai. Denies the charges. https://t.co/uQqCMfdlWs pic.twitter.com/QTx7AN5vrk
– MDC Alliance (@mdczimbabwe) December 5, 2020
Biti has previously been charged with treason, among other criminal offenses.
Zimbabwean police have arrested several opposition officials in the past, which the party says is a way to weaken their fight against the ruling ZANU-PF.
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