Mugabe Opponents Seized in Police Raid

Police round up supporters of the Movement for Democratic Change, the party of leader Morgan Tsvangirai. (Associated Press)

The raid against the home and offices of Rindai Chipfunde, executive director of the Zimbabwe Election Support Network, might have had the same purpose. The group used a sampling model to announce just days after the election that Tsvangirai got more votes than Mugabe.

Makoni, the human rights lawyer, said the search warrant for Chipfunde's home referred to a potential charge of subverting a constitutionally elected government. The charge, he said, carries a possible life sentence. The whereabouts of Chipfunde were unknown Friday night.

Zimbabwe's security minister, Didymus Mutasa, said those arrested in Friday's raids were suspected of committing political violence. Mugabe's government often accuses opposition figures of committing violence, but few cases have been successfully tried in court.

"There are lots of people who are lying" about having been beaten, and are "hiding at the MDC offices, when in actual fact they are the ones who have been perpetrating violence," Mutasa said. "The police have a duty to deal with such people. It's the law. That is justice."

Mugabe, 84, has held power since the nation was founded from the former Rhodesia in 1980. But the last decade of his rule has seen an increase in political strife, culminating in the violent aftermath of the recent elections.

In the vote, Mugabe lost control of parliament for the first time. Until the reporting of official results was abruptly suspended, he was also on the verge of finishing second to Tsvangirai, according to numerous accounts, including from ruling party officials. Even some of his closest allies urged him to step down, but he instead struck back with rare force.

Dozens of election officials, along with several journalists, have been arrested and in some cases tortured, according to reports from human rights groups and some published firsthand accounts. Top military and security officials reportedly have taken control of much of the government and have deployed officers across Zimbabwe to coordinate political intimidation and violence.

The raid comes amid mounting international criticism of Mugabe, who has presided over the collapse of Zimbabwe's economy, chronic food shortages and a series of deeply flawed elections. Political leaders in southern Africa have joined criticism that has long come from the U.S., British and other Western governments.

A spokesman for South African President Thabo Mbeki declined to comment Friday night. But Jacob Zuma, president of that nation's ruling African National Congress, called the situation "unacceptable," according to a party spokeswoman.

Mathews Phosa, the party's treasurer-general, said, "We are opposed to anything undemocratic, anything violent, any form of violence in places where there should be free and fair elections."

Timberg reported from Cape Town, South Africa.