Zimbabwe State security agents have intensified their onslaught against Finance Minister and Movement for Democratic Change (MDC-T) secretary general Tendai Biti by making clandestine overtures to intercept his cellphone communication.

The covert advances were disclosed by Zimbabwe cellphone operator Econet, after Biti moved to block the police from accessing his cellphone call register.

Biti's lawyers, Atherstone and Cook Leg wrote to Econet to protest against the police's conduct in prying into their client's affairs.

Econet CEO Douglas Mboweni confirmed receiving a request from the police. "We take note of the contents of your letter which came four days after our receipt of the police request.

Kindly be advised that Econet will act in compliance with its operating licence and/or any lawful legislation governing the release of such information."

In their letter to Mboweni, Biti's lawyers indicated that some members of the ZRP had visited Econet demanding the call history of numbers which he was using. The lawyers said the police's request coincided with an article published in the state-run Sunday Mail newspaper recently making serious allegations against Biti. The newspaper published phone numbers which it claimed belong to him. It also claimed Biti was engaged in a relationship with an economist in his ministry, a charge which he has denied.

Mboweni's response authenticates a report published in the Sunday Times last week on plans by the Central Intelligence Organisation (CIO) to set up sex traps for top MDC leaders as part of a systematic campaign to rescue embattled President Robert Mugabe from defeat at the next elections.

After receiving unsatisfactory guarantees, Biti went to the Harare High Court on Tuesday seeking to interdict Econet from disclosing any information about his cellphone lines, particularly any call history or information arising from the numbers that he uses to contact any person, without a valid court order obtained in accordance with the provisions of the Interception of Communications Act.

Biti said Econet had no right or obligation to disclose such information to anyone.

He said the court application had been prompted by the fact that certain ZRP members have sought to abuse their positions by approaching Econet and demanding that it hands over information on his calls, under the pretext that they were investigating criminal activities.

"I understand and believe that certain members of the police have clandestinely approached the magistrate with a view to obtaining a search warrant.

"It is my respectful submission that such conduct would be unlawful, as it is against the provisions of the Interception of Communications Act," Biti said in his founding affidavit.

Biti said he feared Econet could be bullied into submission by the police to disclose his information, although such conduct was unlawful.

"I fear that should the respondent (Econet) be bullied into submission, my constitutional right to privacy would be unjustifiably interfered with and, in addition, vital information pertaining to the organisations I am heading will be unlawfully accessed," he said.

Biti said he was privy to, and constantly disseminated, vital information via cellphones to stakeholders.

If this information was accessed, this would jeopardise his party's position and may be used to the detriment of his ministry.

He said if Econet released all of his conversations, it would also prejudice the investigation into the bombing of his home.

"I also suspect and believe that the people pestering the respondent for the release of such information are pursuing a political agenda, whose motives can only be sinister," said Biti.  

By The Times (SA)