200805181351 | MDC alleges Zimbabwe murder plot

MDC alleges Zimbabwe murder plot

Morgan Tsvangirai, Zimbabwe's opposition leader, has delayed his return to the country over an alleged assassination plot.

George Sibotshiwe, spokesman for Tsvangirai's Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) on Saturday said party officials received information from a "credible source" about a planned attack on Tsvangirai.

"We are not in a position to say whether this threat was related to state or non-state actors," Sibotshiwe said.

The MDC leader went abroad due to security concerns after Zimbabwe's disputed elections on March 29.
Tsvangirai was expected back in Harare on Saturday to prepare to take part in the presidential run-off vote scheduled for June 27.

Sibotshiwe said: "In light of this information [of a plot] ... it has been decided that the president will not return today.
"This will enable his security detail more time to analyse and mitigate the threat."

Zimbabwe's election process has seen repeated delays, violence and allegations of electoral fraud.
Tsvangirai accuses Robert Mugabe, Zimbabwe's president, of delaying the run-off to mount a campaign of intimidation against his supporters.