Four men held over Stevenson attack

Three men held over Stevenson attack

• Canada condemns Stevenson attack

• Tsvangirai promises commission of enquiry

• Tsvangirai's men blamed for savage attack on MP

• Tsvangirai savaged over mass action U-turn

• Gabriel Chaibva: Tsvangirai seeks unity with Zanu PF

• INTERVIEW Part 3: Raftopoulos, Moyo and Robertson

• Leaked: MDC proposals for resolution of Zim crisis

• Mugabe in new attack on MDC, churches

• Tsvangirai's father dies

• INTERVIEW Part 2: Moyo, Raftopoulos and Robertson

• INTERVIEW Part 1: Jonathan Moyo, Brian Raftopoulos and John Robertson

• Coltart 'would rather lose seat than compromise principles'

• David Coltart statement on political future

• Analysts back Annan's Zimbabwe plan

• Paul Themba Nyathi: MDC, Zanu PF cross-pollination of cultures

• MDC factions face off in Chitungwiza, Kadoma

• Human rights violators must be held to account

• Coltart: Why I can't join Tsvangirai faction

By Staff Reporter

ZIMBABWEAN police have arrested three members of the opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) accused of Sunday's brutal attack on Harare North legislator, Trudy Stevenson and four other officials of the fractious party.

Police spokesperson Memory Pamire confirmed the arrests, adding that police investigations were continuing into Sunday's attack which left Stevenson with a machete wound at the back of her head and a broken wrist and arm.

Pamire told New Zimbabwe.com: “We have arrested four people in connection with the incident and they
are being detained at Harare Central Police Station."

She identified the arrested men as Tonderai Ndira, Tererai Todini, Tendai Chidziva and Enerst Zhangezha of
Mabvuku.

The arrests come a day after Morgan Tsvangirai, the man whose supporters are blamed for the attack, left Harare for South Africa for undisclosed meetings.

Tsvangirai was accompanied by his secretary general Tendai Biti and
secretary for information and publicity Nelson Chamisa, among other officials.

Tsvangirai has established a commission of enquiry headed by Harare lawyer Advocate Happius Zhou into the attacks on Stevenson and four other officials aligned to a rival faction led by rocket scientist, Arthur Mutambara.

Zhou on Wednesday refused to comment on his mandate referring all questions
to Biti.

On Thursday, Gabriel Chaibva, spokesman for Mutambara's faction, once again rubbished the creation of the commission.

He said: “The MDC ‘s view on the so-called commission of inquiry into the attack of our four party officials is that it is a mere damage control exercise meant to deceive the public. Tsvangirai’s officials namely Chamisa, Biti, Gonese, Sekai Holland, Ian Makone, Roy Bennett, know very well that these youths are controlled, directed and sanctioned from the highest office of their group.”

Canada became the first foreign government to condemn the attack on Stevenson.

American-born Trudy Stevenson, 61, is Zimbabwe's only white female legislator and a founder member of the MDC which broke into two camps last November following clashes between senior leaders over participation in elections for a newly-created senate.

The unraveling of the MDC began in October last year when Tsvangirai refused to accept a national executive vote to participate in elections for a new senate.

He claimed to have won support to boycott the election. Stevenson then joined the breakaway faction opposed to Tsvangirai.

The controversy brought to a head long-simmering divisions within the party over the former trade union chief’s leadership style.

Two years ago MDC youths tried to murder one of its security chiefs, but Tsvangirai failed to take action on that and a string of further violent incidents before and after the split. Critics also cited increasingly dictatorial tendencies.

Tsvangirai still attracts widespread support, Zimbabweans apparently content to look the other way over his failings. The party was founded in September 1999 on the principles of democracy and nonviolence and hope for an end to Mugabe’s rule.

Now the MDC is becalmed. Party insiders say that its structures have faded away, dedicated activists have left the country in disillusion, and its source of funds has dried up.

In February Tsvangirai promised “a bitter winter of protest” against the Government and vowed that he was prepared to die leading the marches. Nothing happened.
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