The High Court in the Zimbabwe capital Harare yesterday postponed until next week its ruling on whether to tighten the bail conditions on opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai, court officials said.

President Robert Mugabe's government had applied to the court for an order to prevent Tsvangirai, the leader of the Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) and two other senior party officials from calling for mass anti-government action.

Tsvangirai, his party's secretary general Welshman Ncube and top MDC official, Renson Gasela are all facing a separate trial of treason.

The court had been expected to rule on the application yesterday, but High Court judges were attending the funeral of a fellow judge, court officials said. The ruling is now expected to be delivered on Monday.

Tsvangirai's lawyers argued that the state's application amounted to a gagging order. They say their clients have a constitutional right to freedom of expression and assembly.

The government wants to avoid a repeat of the MDC's latest protest action, dubbed the "final push", which has seen most shops and businesses in the capital shut since Monday. – Sapa-AFP.