Harare  - Zimbabwe's High Court on Tuesday dismissed an application by the state for leave to appeal a ruling granting bail to the country's deputy minister of agriculture-designate, Roy Bennett.

Bennett's lawyer Beatrice Mtetwa told journalists that Bennett was due for release from a prison in the eastern city of Mutare after Judge Tedious Karwi's ruling.

"They (the state) were not granted the leave to appeal. Legally Roy must be released but I will not be surprised that he will not be released," she told reporters as she was leaving the court in Harare.

But state prosecutor Chris Mutangadura said that he would continue his quest to keep Bennett in custody by appealing the decision to the Supreme Court "as a matter of urgency."

Bennett was granted bail of 2,000 US dollars last week by the same judge but state prosecutors invoked a special law to keep him in jail for another seven days while they sought leave to appeal.

Bennett was arrested on February 13 at an airport outside Harare and charged with possessing weapons for the purposes of insurgency in an alleged plot dating to 2006. He was also charged with violating immigration laws. He denies both charges.

The popular Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) politician, who was thrown off his land in 2003 by allies of President Robert Mugabe, had been due to be sworn in as a deputy agriculture minister in the country's new power-sharing government.

The coalition government, in which MDC leader Morgan Tsvangirai became prime minister, has since been inaugurated, with the position of deputy agriculture minister left vacant.

The MDC has accused hardliners within Mugabe's Zanu-PF of using Bennett to try to derail the power-sharing deal, which is aimed at kickstarting an economic turnaround in crisis-hit Zimbabwe.

Several reports suggested Bennett was at the centre of horse-trading by army generals seeking immunity from prosecution for past atrocities.

Bennett's latest bail ruling follows the release on bail Monday of prominent human rights activist Jestina Mukoko.

Mukoko, head of the Zimbabwe Peace Project, which documents incidents of political violence, was released along with four other activists after being detained for months, also on charges of plotting against Mugabe, and tortured. (dpa)