Mugabe rival 'ordered killing'

Tsvangirai says he is being framed

The key witness in the trial of Zimbabwe opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai has said he wanted to have President Robert Mugabe assassinated, to spark a military coup.

Former Israeli intelligence officer Ari Ben-Menashe says Mr Tsvangirai left "no confusion" in his mind about his intentions.

He said President Mugabe will not leave the office unless he is carried away in a coffin

Ari Ben Menashe

Mr Tsvangirai and two colleagues from the Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) pleaded not guilty to treason charges when the trial began on Monday.

They say the charges were trumped up by the authorities in order to remove them from the political scene.

Riot police prevented journalists, diplomats, lawyers and MDC supporters from entering Harare High Court on Monday, before the judge ordered them to let "interested parties" into court.

British money

Mr Ben-Menashe, who heads the Canadian political consultancy Dickens and Madson, is a former lobbyist for Mr Mugabe's Zanu-PF party.

"He said President Mugabe will not leave the office unless he is carried away in a coffin. Those words were ringing in my mind," Mr Ben-Menashe said.

MORGAN TSVANGIRAI

Previous treason charges dropped

Former union leader

Appealing against 2002 election results

Profile: Morgan Tsvangirai

The court also started watching the grainy video, which Mr Ben-Menashe recorded as evidence against Mr Tsvangirai.

During one of the audible sections of the tape, Mr Tsvangirai said:

"The discussion was never about the elimination of Mugabe, it was about the election, and the post-election outcome."

Before watching the video, Mr Ben-Menashe said that the MDC had signed a $500,000 contract with his firm and promised $10m to the head of the air force, Air Marshal Perence Shiri, to stage a coup after Mr Mugabe's assassination.

Mr Tsvangirai had said sources in the British Government would provide the money, according to Mr Ben-Menashe.

They first met at a hotel near London's Heathrow airport before a subsequent meeting in Canada, which was videotaped.

Mr Ben-Menashe said that Mr Tsvangirai also asked him about the furnishings at State House and promised him further contracts worth $30m after he had taken power.

Flippant

Judge Paddington Garwe at one point admonished Mr Ben-Menashe for being flippant, after a complaint by defence lawyer George Bizos.

"The witness is clowning in the witness box. This is a court of law not a place of entertainment," said Mr Bizos, who represented Nelson Mandela in a trial in apartheid South Africa nearly 40 years ago.

MUGABE AND JUDGES

Mugabe has lost several important cases

White judges forced to resign

Replaced by government sympathisers

Zimbabwe's judges remain defiant

Mr Tsvangirai says the evidence against him - a videotape which purports to show him discussing the assassination of Mr Mugabe with a political consultant - has been edited.

If found guilty, the three could face the death penalty.

Mr Tsvangirai was the main challenger to Mr Mugabe during last March's presidential elections.

Mr Mugabe won the elections, but there have been allegations of widespread vote-rigging and intimidation; Mr Tsvangirai has asked the courts to nullify the result.

Previous treason charges against Mr Tsvangirai were dropped when they were ruled unconstitutional.

The trial comes as the European Union is considering whether to renew sanctions on Zimbabwe's leader, which are due to run out on 18 February.