Zimbabwe opposition MP in court

Mr Bennett, here with PM Tsvangirai, faces several charges

Zimbabwe MP Roy Bennett has appeared in a Mutare court and been charged with several offences, days after his party joined a power-sharing government.

The charges against the Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) MP included terrorism, violating immigration laws and illegal firearms possession.

The MDC said his arrest was politically motivated and called for his release.

Meanwhile, President Robert Mugabe and PM Morgan Tsvangirai attended the new cabinet's inaugural meeting in Harare.

Mr Mugabe chaired the meeting of the 32-member cabinet, state radio reported, but no further details were immediately available.

'Shooting in the dark'

The MDC and the politician's defence team said the charges against Mr Bennett had changed several times since his arrest on Friday.

The MDC said Mr Bennett had been charged under Zimbabwe's Public Order and Security Act (POSA) with:

• Attempting to commit terrorism, banditry and sabotage
• Conspiring to acquire arms with a view to disrupting essential services
• Illegal possession of fire arms and weapons
• attempting to leave the country illegally

"The police know that they do not have a case against Roy Bennett, and the charge of attempting to leave the country illegally is malicious in that they want to keep Roy Bennett in custody," said the party in a statement.

Chris Ndlovu, for the defence, told the BBC: "Police are fishing for charges. They are shooting in the dark."

Mr Bennett, the MDC's treasurer, is the party's choice to be deputy agriculture minister in the new unity government.

A white farmer who lost his property under Mr Mugabe's land reform programme, Mr Bennett spent eight months in prison in 2004-05 for pushing a minister during an argument in parliament over land reform.

He recently returned to Zimbabwe after more than two years in South Africa, where he had fled after police sought his arrest in connection with an alleged plot to kill Mr Mugabe.