2012-04-12
HARARE (Reuters) - Zimbabwe prosecutors said on Monday they were withdrawing charges of illegally keeping grain against Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai ally Roy Bennett, a former white farmer who is already on trial for terrorism.

Bennett, treasurer-general in Tsvangirai's Movement for Democratic Change (MDC), will know on May 10 whether a High Court will drop the terrorism, banditry and sabotage charges that carry a possible death penalty.

The MDC said the grain charges were further proof that the former legislator was being politically persecuted by Mugabe's ZANU-PF party, which is opposed to him being sworn-in as deputy agriculture minister in the unity government.

In his most recent court appearance last month, police detectives served Bennett with a summons to appear in court in eastern Zimbabwe on new charges of unlawfully possessing 92 tonnes of maize at his farm in 2001 before it was seized by President Robert Mugabe's government.

"We are withdrawing those (grain) charges against Roy Bennett," Chris Mutangadura, a state prosecutor told Reuters. He declined to give a reason.

The state's terrorism case -- that Bennett planned to fund a 2006 plot to blow up a major communications link and assassinate key government officials -- hinges on e-mails prosecutors say link the former commercial farmer to the crime.

But the case was dealt a blow last month when its chief witness, 49-year-old former policeman and arms dealer Peter Hitschmann, disowned the e-mails and denied Bennett was involved.