MPs detained as Zimbabwe parliament sworn in
Zimbabwe police detained two opposition lawmakers on Monday ahead of the swearing in of parliament, five months after disputed elections, the opposition said.
Two deputies of the Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) were detained in the parliament building in what the opposition called a manoeuvre to influence the vote for a speaker for the new assembly.
"It's clearly a strategy to eliminate our members and reverse our majority in parliament," MDC spokesman Nelson Chamisam told AFP.
He said one lawmaker, Shuah Mudiwa, was "literally pulled" out of the parliament building. "We have been informed they want to arrest 15 MPs. It's all about the vote for the speaker. Nothing to do with the law," he said.
"This arrogance has the potential of sinking the ship of our negotiations. We don't need arrogance on the part of any of the parties. We need maturity and harmony and not acrimony," Chimasa told AFP.
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