Zimbabwe opposition leader dies
( 2002-10-23 15:24 ) (7 )

A top opposition lawmaker who was in jail on murder charges was found dead in his cell Tuesday, prompting calls for an independent investigation and autopsy.

Learnmore Jongwe, 28, had been in custody since July, when he was arrested in the stabbing death of his wife.

Before surrendering to police, Jongwe was the spokesman for the leader of the country's main opposition party, the Movement for Democratic Change. He also was also a member of parliament from the Harare suburb of Kuwadzana.

Zimbabwe's director of prisons, retired Brig. Paradzai Zimondi, told state radio that Jongwe was found dead in his cell in a prison outside Harare.

However, police spokesman Wayne Bvudzijena later said Jongwe died in a cell containing 80 inmates in another prison in central Harare. Bvudzijena said Jongwe died shortly before dawn after an attack of vomiting. Cellmates tried to render first aid, he said.

Zimondi said a team of medical specialists and detectives would conduct a full investigation.

David Coltart, shadow justice minister for the opposition party, demanded an immediate independent autopsy and investigation.

Jongwe was due to appear in court next month. His arrest in July triggered a massive campaign in government-controlled media that depicting the opposition MDC as "a violent party."

President Robert Mugabe, in power for 22 years since the country gained independence in 1980, claimed victory over the opposition in March elections that many observers rejected as tainted.

The political upheaval in Zimbabwe over the last 2 1/2 years has left more than 200 Mugabe opponents dead. Ruling party militants have occupied white-owned farms and disrupted campaigning by MDC candidates.