DA urges SA to abandon 'quiet diplomacy' following Tendai Biti's detention

The Democratic Alliance (DA) is urging President Cyril Ramaphosa to condemn the arrest of Zimbabwean opposition leader Tendai Biti in his home country. 
 
Biti, who leads the Constitution Defenders Forum, was detained in Mutare over the weekend alongside party members and a local journalist.
 
Authorities have charged them under public order laws, alleging they failed to notify officials of a private meeting.
 
Biti has been campaigning against planned constitutional amendments to extend President Emmerson Mnangagwa’s term from five to seven years.
 
DA MP Ryan Smith warned that the developments signal a deepening democratic crisis in Zimbabwe.
 
"We call on President Cyril Ramaphosa and Minister Ronald Lamola to condemn Tendai Biti's arrest and urgently engage with Zimbabwean authorities through diplomatic channels to reconsider this draconian legislative proposal. South Africa cannot continue to prop up its fraternity of leaders who continue to trample on democracy and the rights of citizens across the Southern African region."

He adds that South Africa cannot remain silent in the face of growing authoritarianism in the region.
 
"This recent act of state oppression follows a worrying trend seen in countries such as Uganda and Tanzania, which have arrested opposition leaders on trumped-up charges of treason to silence opposing voices and sideline democracy."