Zimbabwe

Tsvangirai returns despite assasination fears

by Hannah Lippitt

Article published on the 2008-05-24 Latest update 2008-05-25 10:21 TU

The leader of the Zimbabwean opposition party, Morgan Tsvangirai
(Photo : AFP)

Zimbabwe's opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai arrived home Saturday after more than six weeks abroad, saying it was good to be back despite assasination fears. Tsvangirai said he had no concern for his safety ahead of a presidential run-off election next month, although his party has warned of an army plot to kill him and the threat of a treason charge.

Movement for Democratic Change officials said he would be briefed by other party leaders before addressing reporters in the afternoon.

The Zimbabwe opposition leader has been abroad since shortly after a first round of elections on March 29 in a bid to lobby regional leaders to pressure President Robert Mugabe.

Delays and political violence have marked the aftermath of the elections with followers of Mugabe's ZANU-PF party accused of conducting a campaign of terror against opposition supporters.

Tsvangirai had announced his return for last Saturday but pulled out at the last minute, citing an assasination plot.

His party's number two, Tendai Biti, has said that the MDC is one of dozens of top opposition figures on an army hitlist, allegations the government denies.

Tsvangirai beat Mugabe in the first round of presidential elections in March, but without an absolute majority. The Zimbabwean president is now fighting to stay in power, after nearly three decades running the country.

Zimbabwe's economy has dramatically deteriorated since 2000 after Mugabe embarked on a land reform programme, which saw thousands of white-owned farms expropriated.

Eighty percent of the workforce is unemployed while the official inflation rate in February stood at 165,000 percent - the highest in the world.