HARARE, Zimbabwe, Feb. 18 (UPI) -- A magistrate in Zimbabwe says there is enough evidence for opposition politician Roy Bennett to face criminal charges.
Bennett was preparing to be sworn in as deputy agriculture minister in Zimbabwe's unity government when he was arrested last week.
The opposition Movement for Democratic Change has said Bennett's arrest was a politically motivated attempt to undermine the power-sharing agreement between the MDC and the ruling Zanu-PF party, BBC reported Wednesday.
Magistrate Livingstone Chipadze said Bennett should remain in custody until March 4. He has been charged with banditry, sabotage and terrorism.
U.S. officials have criticized the case against Bennett, suggesting it did not bode well for the success of the coalition government.
"I do not think it indicates any goodwill," U.S State Department spokesman Gordon Duguid said Tuesday.
Bennett, who lost his property under President Robert Mugabe's land reform program, spent eight months in prison in 2004 for pushing a government minister during an argument in Parliament.
He recently returned to Zimbabwe after more than two years in South Africa, where he had fled after police said he conspired to kill Mugabe.
