Tsvangirai takes stand in treason trial

Zimbabwe's main opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai took the stand for the first time in his treason trial yesterday and denied he ever plotted to kill President Robert Mugabe - a man he said was once his hero.

Tsvangirai, whose trial has fuelled political tension in Zimbabwe, told Harare High Court he had long seen Mugabe as a hero of the southern African country's fight against white domination.

Tsvangirai's trial began last February with prosecutors accusing him of asking a Montreal-based political consultancy firm to arrange Mugabe's assassination and a military coup.