Zimbabwe: Ex-FM Tendai Biti convicted, fined $200 over false election result declaration

Zimbabwe's former Finance Minister, Tendai Biti has been found guilty of contravening the electoral act. The MDC Alliance Vice President has been convicted by the Court for announcing that his party's leader won disputed elections held in July 2018 elections.

Tendai Biti was on trial for 'unofficial and false declaration of results'. Magistrate Gloria Takundwa fined him $200 for the offence. Biti, also a leading human rights lawyer, fled the country to neighbouring country Zambia in August citing threats to his life. He was deported back to Zimbabwe days later and arrested for allegedly violating the electoral law. In a media conversation, the 52-year old Zimbabwean politician didn't give a straight answer on why he fled the country.

Main opposition leader Nelson Chamisa and his party, the Movement for Democratic Change, have rejected the election results, claiming the electoral agency rigged the vote to ensure a win for President Emmerson Mnangagwa.

Zimbabwe has sunk deeper into political turmoil and economic decline since the elections, the first to be held without former longtime ruler Robert Mugabe. At one time the elections were viewed by both local and the international community as key to turning the country around after decades of repression.