Zimbabwe charges on 'toilet bomb'

It is not clear if any police were injured in the alleged bombings

Five Zimbabwe opposition officials have been accused of bombing a kitchen in a police station and a toilet in Harare.

They were charged with terrorism, sabotage and malicious damage at Harare Magistrates' Court on Monday.

An opposition spokesman said the case was "trumped up" as those charged "didn't know the difference between an explosive and a firecracker".

Nelson Chamisa told the BBC the evidence had been fabricated as an excuse to crack down on the opposition.

Zimbabwe's government has always accused the MDC of violence and two weeks ago said rebels were training in neighbouring Botswana.

The MDC in turn accuses the ruling Zanu-PF party of using violence to remain in power.

According to the state-run Chronicle newspaper, the accused allegedly sneaked into Harare central police station on 2 August and used explosives to blow up a kitchen.

They were also reportedly accused of blowing up a men's toilet near the Harare headquarters of the Criminal Investigation Department on 17 November.

"They are charges that have been concocted by Zanu-PF, acting as if in some kind of a movie," Mr Chamisa said.

"The only unfortunate thing is that unlike a Hollywood film, it is playing with people's lives."

'Torture'

The prosecution says the five bombed Harare central police station again in November. All the alleged attacks reportedly resulted in minor damage.

You can't have a political agreement on one hand and the other you have a cat-and-mouse relationship MDC's Nelson Chamisa

"Clearly they are the ones who bombed those buildings... to create evidence to justify a crackdown on the opposition," Mr Chamisa said.

The prosecution also claims the accused detonated two bombs which blew up a 60cm stretch of rail track at Norton, near Harare, on 21 August.

The five are reportedly Movement for Democratic Change members, including Emmanuel Dhlamini, a former police superintendent, who the Chronicle says is MDC's head of security and intelligence and Gandi Mudzingwa, a personal adviser to Mr Tsvangirai.

The Chronicle reported that the court had allowed the five to be medically examined after they claimed they had been tortured in police custody.

Mr Chamisa said it was part of Zanu-PF's campaign of intimidation and it revealed the ruling party's insincerity about sharing power.

The two parties signed a power-sharing deal in September, but progress has since stalled over who should control key ministries.

"You can't have a political agreement on one hand and the other you have a cat-and-mouse relationship... trumping up charges against those people you are supposed to be working with in government," he said.

Zimbabwe has been crippled by the stalled power-sharing negotiations, as well as a cholera epidemic which has spread quickly amid the country's economic meltdown.

Mr Tsvangirai has threatened to pull out of talks on power-sharing unless the abduction of MDC officials stops.

He says some 200 MDC activists were killed and many thousands forced from their homes in a series of attacks on his supporters ahead of elections in June.