20 Facts About Tendai Biti

Tendai Laxton Biti was born on 6 August 1966 and is a Zimbabwean politician who served as Finance Minister of Zimbabwe from 2009 to 2013.

Tendai Biti is the second Vice President of Citizens Coalition for Change.

Tendai Biti enrolled in the University of Zimbabwe law school as a freshman in 1986.

In 1988 and 1989, Tendai Biti was Secretary General of the University of Zimbabwe Student Representative Council, with Terry Mhungu as SRC President, which led student protests against government censorship in academia.

Tendai Biti was elected Member of Parliament for the Harare East constituency in 2000.

Tendai Biti serves in the Portfolio Committee on Budget, Finance and Economic Development and is currently the MDC's Secretary General.

Tendai Biti was arrested in 2007 with many others, including MDC leader Morgan Tsvangirai, after a prayer rally in the Harare township of Highfield.

Tendai Biti was re-elected to the House of Assembly from Harare East in the March 2008 parliamentary election.

Tendai Biti returned to Zimbabwe on 12 June 2008 and was immediately arrested at the airport in Harare.

Tendai Biti's lawyer claimed that the material in question was forged.

Tendai Biti faced four charges: "treason, communicating falsehoods prejudicial to the State, insulting President Mugabe and causing disaffection among the defence forces".

Prosecutors argued against granting bail to Tendai Biti, noting that the charges against him were so serious that he could be executed.

On 27 August 2008, Chioniso Mutongi, a magistrate in Harare, rejected this request, saying that Tendai Biti had not been on remand long enough for its removal to be appropriate.

Tendai Biti was sworn in alongside other Ministers on 13 February 2009 in Harare.

On 20 November 2013, Tendai Biti announced he would be opening a new law firm.

Tendai Biti fell out with Tsvangirai in 2014, resulting in Tsvangirai announcing Tendai Biti's expulsion in April 2014.

In 2015 Tendai Biti joined other disaffected MDC-T members in a breakaway group, MDC-Renewal, becoming its secretary-general.

In September 2015, MDC-Renewal launched as a separate party, the People's Democratic Party, and Tendai Biti was elected president of the new party.

In 2020, Tendai Biti criticized a three-member delegation from South Africa that was sent to investigate human rights abuses, when they returned to their country without speaking to opposition groups.

In February 2022, Tendai Biti was detained by police for several hours while campaigning for the by-elections in Harare, a spokeswoman for his party said.