Zimbabwe Opposition Politician Arrested at Zambian Border

Zimbabwe opposition politician Tendai Biti has been arrested at the Zambian border.

Biti’s lawyer, Nqobizitha Mlilo, says his client was detained Wednesday as he was attempting to cross the border into Zambia in a bid to gain asylum.

Biti is one of nine members of the Movement for Democratic Change alliance wanted by Zimbabwe police for inciting violence following last week’s presidential election, which the MDC alliance claims was rigged in favor of President Emmerson Mnangagwa.

Biti held a news conference the day before President Mnangagwa was declared the winner and claimed that MDC leader Nelson Chamisa had won the July 30 vote. When Chamisa’s supporters took to the streets the next day to protest the official results, police responded by using tear gas and live fire, killing six people.

Biti served as finance minister from 2009 to 2013 during a power-sharing government between the MDC and then-President Robert Mugabe, the leader of the long-ruling ZANU-PF party. Mugabe was forced from office last year after 40 years in power, surrendering the presidency to Mnangagwa, his vice president.

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