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MDC claims assassination plot
17/05/2008 15:37 - (SA)
Johannesburg - Zimbabwe's opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai will not return home on Saturday after his party learned of an assassination plot against him, a party spokesperson told AFP.
"We received information from a credible source this morning concerning a planned assassination attempt on president Tsvangirai," said Tsvangirai's spokesperson George Sibotshiwe.
"We are not in a position to say whether this threat was related to state or non-state actors."
After more than a month out of the country due to fears for his safety, Tsvangirai had been expected back in Harare on Saturday to begin campaigning ahead of a run-off presidential election in June.
Tsvangirai beat veteran President Robert Mugabe in a first round of voting in March, but not by enough to secure outright victory.
"In light of this information (of a plot) ... it has been decided that the president will not return today (Saturday)," Sibotshiwe added.
"This will enable his security detail more time to analyse and mitigate the threat," he said, adding that the former trade union leader remained "determined to go home at the nearest opportunity".
Zimbabwe's election process has been marred by delays, violence and allegations of electoral fraud amid a worsening economic climate, with official inflation at 165 000% and unemployment of 80%.
Tsvangirai, who had said last weekend he would return within a couple of days, has made a series of demands to ensure a free and fair run-off run-off, including the presence of foreign peacekeepers and election monitors.
- AFP
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