Mugabe opponent is charged with murdering wife

Zimbabwe's main opposition party suffered a severe setback yesterday when its chief spokesman was charged with the murder of his wife.

Learnmore Jongwe, 28, a lawyer and member of parliament, is the Information Secretary of the Movement for Democratic Change (MDC), which came close to defeating President Robert Mugabe's ruling Zanu-PF party in parliamentary elections in 2000.

Police mounted a hunt for Mr Jongwe after his wife, Rutendo Jongwe, 23, died in hospital on Saturday from injuries she suffered in an attack on Friday, but he surrendered to police yesterday morning.

Press reports in Zimbabwe said Mr Jongwe had twice tried to commit suicide before turning himself to the police. The reports said relatives had dissuaded him from taking his life.

Jonathan Samkange, Mr Jongwe's lawyer, told journalists that Mr Jongwe had stabbed his wife of nearly one year in a fit of rage after a domestic dispute but had not intended to kill her.

Mr Jongwe's tragedy has come at a bad moment for the MDC, which has been under siege from President Mugabe since the latter won presidential elections in March. Mr Mugabe's officials have exploited any perceived wrongs by MDC officials to try and discredit the opposition party.

The MDC's president, Morgan Tsvangirai, said in a statement that his party condemned all forms of violence, whether domestic or public, and urged the police to ensure that justice was done over Mrs Jongwe's death.

The MDC won 57 of the 120 contested seats in the parliamentary election and Mr Tsvangirai has mounted a legal challenge to Mr Mugabe's victory in the March presidential election.

European Union ministers are meeting today to debate the deteriorating situation in Zimbabwe and to consider extending sanctions against Mr Mugabe's regime to about 20 more of his closest allies.

Britain is pressing hard for more measures against the Zanu-PF regime, amid growing concern over the intimidation of the independent media and opposition politicians, and the country's deteriorating economic situation.

When the work of election monitors was blocked in February, EU foreign ministers imposed a European travel ban on Mr Mugabe and 19 of his top-ranking associates.

EU foreign ministers will debate whether to widen the list of those affected to include more of the military and of Mr Mugabe's business backers. France has always been sceptical about the effectiveness of sanctions, leaving the outcome of today's meeting in the balance.

However, one diplomat argued: "My guess is that it will go through".