A high court judge yesterday freed a key aide to Zimbabwe Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai two days after he was arrested for calling President Robert Mugabe a liar.
Jameson Timba, a cabinet minister from Tsvangirai's Movement for Democratic Change, was arrested at his office on Friday and had been in police custody since.
"There was a violation of his rights," Zimbabwe High Court Judge Joseph Musakwa said.
"He was not informed of the charges he was facing. Assurances by the [attorney-general] that he will be taken to court [on Monday] do not cure that there are breaches of his rights. Therefore, there is no justification for his continued detention."
Timba, the minister of state in the prime minister's office, arrived in court on Sunday morning accompanied by police. After his release, he told reporters that he had been denied food while in jail.
"I have not eaten something since they picked me up. There is no other problem except for the cold and the lice," he said.
Zimbabwe prison cells are usually infested with lice and prisoners rarely receive blankets unless relatives bring them.
The hearing was held yesterday after Timba's lawyers won an order late on Saturday compelling the police to bring him to court to justify his continued detention.
The arrest came in the wake of protests from Mugabe loyalists, who last week called for Tsvangirai to be arrested for undermining the office of the president.
A top army officer and close Mugabe ally accused the prime minister of being a national security threat and a lackey of Western powers.
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