Ten arrested in Zim over arms cache

HARARE – Ten people including a prominent white former opposition lawmaker and a member of parliament have been arrested in Zimbabwe after police said they had uncovered an arms cache, a state newspaper reported yesterday.

The prominent opposition activists include former member of parliament Roy Bennett, who served eight months in jail after parliament in 2004 convicted him for pushing the justice minister to the floor during a heated debate on the land issue, the Herald reported. MP Giles Mutseyekwa from the opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC), who is also the party’s shadow defence minister, was also arrested after police said they found the weapons in the eastern city of Mutare on Tuesday.”Our investigations are still continuing with police following some of the possible leads,” senior assistant police commissioner Ronald Muderedzwa was quoted as saying in The Herald.Agents on Tuesday arrested a man identified as Mike Peter Hitschmann whom they described as a member of a shadowy organisation called the Zimbabwe Freedom Movement (ZFM).State television claimed that the ZFM had arms stashed at various locations around the country and planned to overthrow President Robert Mugabe’s government.The MDC has denied any links to Hitschmann and claims he is a member of the police reserves.- Nampa-AFPMP Giles Mutseyekwa from the opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC), who is also the party’s shadow defence minister, was also arrested after police said they found the weapons in the eastern city of Mutare on Tuesday.”Our investigations are still continuing with police following some of the possible leads,” senior assistant police commissioner Ronald Muderedzwa was quoted as saying in The Herald.Agents on Tuesday arrested a man identified as Mike Peter Hitschmann whom they described as a member of a shadowy organisation called the Zimbabwe Freedom Movement (ZFM).State television claimed that the ZFM had arms stashed at various locations around the country and planned to overthrow President Robert Mugabe’s government.The MDC has denied any links to Hitschmann and claims he is a member of the police reserves.- Nampa-AFP