Senior Zimbabwean opposition figure Biti now in police custody

Senior Zimbabwean opposition figure Tendai Biti is in police custody after Zambia rejected his asylum attempt and deported him as fears grew about a government crackdown following Zimbabwe’s disputed election.

Mr Biti pledged to “keep on fighting” as he arrived at court in Zimbabwe’s capital, Harare yesterday, where he will be charged with inciting public violence and declaring “unofficial or fake” election results.

If convicted of the first charge, he could face up to a decade in prison, according to police spokeswoman Charity Charamba.

Separately, the opposition is preparing a legal challenge to last week’s election results, calling them fraudulent.

Mr Biti’s plight has raised concerns that the government of President Emmerson Mnangagwa – who narrowly won the first election after the fall of Robert Mugabe – will treat the opposition just as harshly as before despite promises of reforms.

A letter from Mr Biti’s lawyer, Beatrice Mtetwa, to Zimbabwean police alleged that they and military police “unlawfully abducted” Mr Biti from Zambia and “maliciously damaged” the tyres of a legal practitioner trying to follow their unmarked vehicles back to Harare. The letter said Mr Biti should be immediately returned to Zambian immigration authorities and “due to the traditional torture that abductees are generally subjected to in Zimbabwe” it called for a medical team to look over Mr Biti before then. Zambian border guards handed Mr Biti to Zimbabwean authorities despite a court order saying he should not be deported until it could hear his appeal for asylum, Zambian lawyer Gilbert Phiri said.

Zambia’s foreign minister said Mr Biti’s reasons for seeking asylum “did not have merit”. The UN refugee agency said it was “gravely concerned” about the reports of Mr Biti’s forced return to Zimbabwe, calling such returns a serious violation of international law. A joint statement by the heads of missions in Zimbabwe of the European Union, the US, Canada and Australia urgently called on Zimbabwean authorities to guarantee Mr Biti’s safety and respect his rights. It said diplomats were “deeply disturbed” by reports of security forces targeting the opposition.

David Coltart, a friend of Biti’s who is a fellow member of the opposition Movement for Democratic Change and a human rights lawyer, said: “This is a worrying development.”