Zimbabwe PM says Mugabe side on a mission to fix himBy KITSEPILE NYATHI in Harare | Wednesday, December 7  2011 at  12:58

Zimbabwe Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai claims to have uncovered a plot to arrest him on unspecified charges as part of efforts to end Harare’s troubled unity government.
The PM’s office issued a statement Tuesday saying it was aware of a plan to “plant incriminating documents” at the politician’s government and party offices.

Mr Luke Tamborinyoka, the Prime Minister’s spokesman, claimed the plot involved two unnamed ministers from President Robert Mugabe’s Zanu-PF party and the Central Intelligence Organisation.

He said the plotters had planned to move in on Mr Tsvangirai and other senior officials from his Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) party in the next two weeks.

“The plot involves members of the CIO and two named Cabinet ministers who want to plant the documents and then raid the Prime Minister’s Charter House and Harvest House (MDC headquarters) where they would ‘discover’ their own documents incriminating the Prime Minister and some members of the party’s top hierarchy,” Mr Tamborinyoka said in a statement.

“The raid, which is scheduled to take place in the next two weeks, will result in the ‘discovered’ documents being used, not only to prosecute the Prime Minister and some members of his leadership, but an excuse to pull out of the inclusive government without implement the necessary.”

A Zanu-PF spokesman, Mr Rugare Gumbo, said his party was not aware of the plot and instead accused the PM of trying to divert attention from his marital problems.

President Mugabe and Mr Tsvangirai formed a unity government in 2009 after a disputed presidential election the previous year.

The whistleblower

But after three years of haggling, the two rivals now agree that the coalition was unworkable and want fresh elections.

The MDC has insisted on sweeping electoral and security reforms as well as a new constitution before any polls, even as President Mugabe insists they must be held next year.
Mr Tsvangirai has been threatened with arrest more than three times this year.

In March, Zanu-PF MPs called for his arrest on contempt of court charges after he accused High Court judges of bias.

He was later investigated for alleged fraud involving $1.5 million meant for the construction of his official residence.

The Attorney General, Mr Johannes Tomana, a fierce loyalist of President Mugabe's, also set up a committee to investigate if Mr Tsvangirai could be charged with treason after the PM’s private discussions with US diplomats were leaked by the whistleblower website WikiLeaks.

In 2004, Mr Tsvangirai was cleared of treason allegations after he was charged with plotting to kill President Mugabe.

It was his arrest and severe assault by the police while in detention in 2007 that forced the Southern African Development Community to intervene in the Zimbabwe political crisis that has stretched for over a decade.