Tensions have risen within Zimbabwe's national unity government ahead of a visit Thursday by South African President and Southern African Development Community Chairman Jacob Zuma, who has been asked to mediate longstanding unresolved issues. 

Those ongoing disputes over fulfillment of the Global Political Agreement underlying the unity government turned acrimonious Sunday when Deputy Prime Minister Arthur Mutambara, head of one formation of the Movement for Democratic Change, told a cabinet retreat in Nyanga that last year's elections were fraudulent, leading ZANU-PF ministers to walk out.

Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai and other top officials of the larger MDC formation moved to patch up the dispute, but the state-controlled Herald newspaper, close to ZANU-PF, quoted Justice Minister Patrick Chinamasa on Monday as saying the former ruling party in future won't participate in any forums in which Mutambara is scheduled to speak.

Mutambara, Mr. Tsvangirai and President Robert Mugabe - the three principals in the unity government - were expected to meet before Zuma's visit to smooth things over.

One ZANU-PF source told VOA that the party was angered when the Tsvangirai MDC wrote to Attorney General Johannes Tomana demanding an investigation into the alleged murders of 180 MDC supporters during the turbulent 2008 election period.

By VOA