Zimbabwe Opposition Legislator Arrested for Second Time in One Week

A Zimbabwean opposition legislator was arrested Saturday in the ongoing government crackdown on opponents, just two days after he was released from custody on a similar charge of inciting political violence.

Eric Matinenga, a Member of Parliament for Buhera, was picked up from his home in the capital, Harare, for questioning about violence in his constituency.

“We are yet to establish what the charges are this time against the Member of Parliament. There is no justification for the latest arrest, just two days after he was released for inciting violence,” a spokesman for his party, the Movement for Democratic Change (MDC), said.

Matinenga is a prominent Zimbabwean lawyer who has previously won legal cases against President Robert Mugabe’s government.

He was arrested last Saturday on charges of attempted murder and public violence in his constituency, located about 200 kilometers to the southeast of the capital, Harare.

The arrest comes a day after MDC leader, Morgan Tsvangirai, was detained at a police roadblock while on his way to a campaign rally in the southwest of the country.

Tsvangirai is challenging Mugabe in a presidential election run-off on June 27.

Source African Press Agency

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