Harare - Popular Zimbabwean politician Roy Bennett appeared in the High Court in Harare on Monday for the scheduled start of his terrorism trial.

Bennett, 52, is charged with conspiring to overthrow President Robert Mugabe, in a case his Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) says is a trumped-up attempt at keeping him out of government.

Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai had earmarked the former white farmer for the post of deputy agriculture minister in the coalition between the MDC and Mugabe's Zanu-PF party.

Bennett is charged with possessing weapons with the intention to commit insurgency, sabotage, terrorism and banditry in 2006. He was arrested on the day in February that the government was sworn in by Mugabe.

His trial was initially supposed to start last month at a lower, provincial court but state prosecutors obtained that the case be moved to the High Court because of the gravity of the charges.

The state's relentless pursuit of Bennett was the trigger for the MDC's recent three-week boycott of government.

That boycott ended last week following talks between Tsvangirai, Mugabe and regional leaders in Mozambique. (dpa)