US embassy cable - 04HARARE1787

UNCLAS HARARE 001787 
 
SIPDIS 
 
AF/S FOR BNEULING 
NSC FOR SENIOR AFRICA DIRECTOR C. COURVILLE 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PGOV, ZI, MDC 
SUBJECT: MDC MP BENNETT JAILED 
 
REF: A. HARARE 858 
     B. HARARE 634 
 
 1.  On Thursday morning, October 28, police at Harare 
International Airport arrested Chimanimani MDC MP Roy Bennett 
on charges of obstruction of justice.  According to Bulawayo 
MP and MDC Secretary for Legal Affairs David Coltart, Bennett 
was on his way to a business meeting in Johannesburg, South 
Africa and was scheduled to return to Harare the same day. 
The arrest follows the Parliametary Privileges Committee 
recommendation on October 27 that Bennett be jailed for 15 
months "with labor" after assaulting two Cabinet ministers in 
May.  (See RefA).  Bennett's lawyers launched an urgent 
application for his release, which is scheduled to be heard 
tomorrow.  The police subsequently released Bennett into the 
custody of Parliament for today to enable him to present his 
arguments to Parliament, which is debating the report and 
will likely vote on the penalty.  Under the Privileges, 
Immunities and Powers of Parliament Act, Parliament has the 
power either to fine or imprison for up to two years any 
member found guilty of contempt of Parliament. 
 
2.  Coltart told poloff that Bennett had recently uncovered 
the location of his coffee crop and was traveling to South 
Africa to hand over important documents to his South 
African-based lawyers.  Bennett planned to be back in Harare 
by that afternoon in time to argue against the Parliamentary 
Committee,s recommendation of a jail sentence.  Coltart said 
Bennett only had the coffee documents in his possession at 
the time of his arrest.  Bennett was evicted from his farm in 
April 2004 (See RefB) and, according to Coltart, the 
Agriculture Rural Development Authority (ARDA), the 
government parastatal that assumed control of the farm, sold 
Bennett,s coffee crop for $200,000 to a German company. 
After learning of the jail recommendation, Bennett wanted to 
get the supporting documentation to his attorneys in South 
Africa before a likely jail sentence was imposed. 
 
3.  Comment: It is not surprising that the Parliamentary 
committee recommended jail time for Bennett.  As a white 
farmer elected on an MDC ticket in a purported ZANU-PF rural 
stronghold, Bennett has been a thorn in the ruling party,s 
side for several years; a jail term would be a way for the 
party to be rid of him, at least until after the March 
Parliamentary elections.  If Parliament supports the 
committee,s recommendation and sentences Bennett to jail, an 
outcome for which Bennett's lawyers are preparing given the 
ruling party's near super-majority in Parliament, Bennett 
would still retain his seat.  He ostensibly could still run 
in the next Parliamentary election, although some ruling 
party officials have asserted that the loss of his farm would 
deprive him of the residency necessary to run in his rural 
Chimanimani district.  End Comment. 
DELL