Zimbabwe’s Zanu-PF has described the MDC’s decision to disengage from it politically as a silly protest, which should not be taken seriously.

Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai made the announcement on Friday after a court ordered that senior MDC official Roy Bennet stand trial on terrorism charges.

The MDC will no longer attend cabinet meetings or co-operate with President Robert Mugabe’s party.

However, it is not pulling out of the unity government.

Bennet was released from prison on Friday.

He is facing terrorism charges including having weapons to commit banditry.

Zanu-PF’s Bright Matonga says he believes Bennet has a case to answer to.

“If we try and bulldoze the legal channels, then we are not getting anywhere. Obviously when someone is arrested and Bennet is a popular figure in the MDC, his case has been internationalised and this is just a ploy to sway people from the charge,” he said.

Meanwhile, Bennet says his party fully supports him.

“The leadership of the MDC is in solidarity with me. The organisation doubts the reliability of the Zanu-PF government and they have now disengaged from interacting with them,” he said.