Tendai Biti Arrested While Trying to Seek Asylum in Zambia
Zimbabwean elections are over but politicians from the MDC alliance still fear for their lives.
Tendai Biti, a prominent figure in the MDC party, has been arrested on charges of "inciting violence" and "preempting election results."
Biti, former finance minister, has been a vocal figure in this past election. Following election results that declared Emmerson Mnangagwa as the winner, Biti attempted to flee the country for political asylum. According to his lawyerNqobizitha Mlilo, Biti was trying to cross the border into Zambia when he was arrested.
"We have kickstarted processes of seeking political asylum so we are waiting to see how far the processes will go. His life has been in danger," Mlilo said.
During a press conference on July 31st, Biti claimed that Zanu-PF was planning an assassination attempt on him and Nelson Chamisa. He also accused Zanu-PF of rigging the elections that he believed Chamisa had won.
The BBC has reported that the warrant for Biti's arrest claims he "unlawfully" announced Chamisa as the winner of the election.
While many had hoped that the past election would be more peaceful as the first election following Mugabe's ousting, it seems that the battle for power is far from over as the police are still searching for top officials in the opposition party for their involvement in last week's post-election violence.
