Zimbabwe minister arrested: Tsvangirai wants 'divorce'

BBC News, 10 March 2011

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Zimbabwe's Energy Minister Elton Mangoma has reportedly been detained by police, for unspecified reasons.

Elton Mangoma is one of Prime Minister
Morgan Tsvangirai's key allies in the cabinet

Mr Mangoma is a founder of the Movement for Democratic Change, which has been in an uneasy coalition with President Robert Mugabe's Zanu PF since 2009.

He was escorted from his offices on Thursday by three plain-clothes officers.

MDC leader Morgan Tsvangirai has responded by saying it is time for a "divorce" from Zanu-PF.

The prime minister called the arrest the act of "a barbaric and senseless dictatorship."

Fuel deal

A police spokesman could not confirm whether Mr Mangoma had been arrested or was just being questioned, and no reasons were given for his detention.

Reports say the arrest is believed to be in connection with a fuel deal the minister made in December with a little-known South African company.

Zanu-PF lawmakers accused Mr Mangoma of bypassing tender procedures and also claimed that only a fraction of the fuel paid for had actually been delivered.

He denies any wrongdoing and says all the fuel was delivered.

The arrest also comes as government rifts grow over Zanu-PF plans to increase local ownership of the country's mines.