Breaking News!

Police fail to bring Biti to court

                                       Blessing Chapwati

Zimbabwe police failed to bring jailed opposition MP and party Secretary General Tendai Biti to court on Monday as they levelled new charges against him.

Biti's lawyer Lewis Uriri said in addition to the charges of treason and malicious falsehoods, police were now charging Biti for insulting president Robert Mugabe, and for attempting to cause disaffection among the security forces.

Biti is alleged to have insulted the person of the president by labelling him an "evil man".

Uriri suspected that the police had another warrant of arrest which they were using for his continued detention. He said he would on Monday night file an urgent High Court application to declare Biti's continued detention unlawfull.

"He may appear in court on Tuesday but we are not sure if they will bring him to court. They have preferred two new charges today and they want to press more charges tomorrow. We are now preparing an urgent High Court application to declare his continued detention unlawful," said Uriri.

Biti was arrested last Wednesday upon arrival at the Harare International airport.

He faces death penalty or life imprisonment if convicted of treason.

The police case is based on a "fake" document written by the government's spy Central Intelligence Organisation (CIO).

Mewanwhile President Robert Mugabe threatened on Monday to arrest opposition Movement for Democratic Change leader Morgan Tsvangirai for provoking violence ahead of theJune 27 presidential election run-off.

"We are warning them (the MDC leaders) that we will not hesitate to arrest them, and we will do that in broad daylight," Mugabe said at a campaign rally in Kadoma's Mashonaland West Province North West of Harare.

Government has opened a crack down on opposition leaders ahead of the 27 June presidential election.