The opposition mayor of the Zimbabwe capital Harare is in police custody without charge after being arrested on allegations of witness tampering, his lawyer said Tuesday. Jacob Mafume, a prominent member of the main opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) alliance, was arrested Monday in connection with a criminal case over abuse of office for which he was out on bail. "Up to now, no charge has been preferred against him," Mafume's lawyer Tonderai Bhatasara told AFP. Accusing the police of "abusing the 48-hour (custody) rule", he said his client was likely to spend a second night in jail before appearing in court on Wednesday. The MDC issued an angry statement on Monday, saying: "The sabre-rattling (ruling) ZANU-PF regime is arresting our councilors in order to cow them into submission. "The regime wants total control of authorities. That will be resisted," the party said. Government spokesman Nick Mangwana said on Twitter that Mafume was arrested for "trying to bribe the chief witness in the case for which he is on bail". He added that the mayor's bail conditions stipulated that he "not interfere with witnesses". Mafume, elected in September, was arrested on November 25 on allegations of having allocated residential land to his sister and a colleague. He spent two weeks in custody after he was denied bail by a Harare magistrate who ruled that he was likely to interfere with investigations. Mafume was later granted bail by the High Court. Harare has been governed by opposition figures for more than a decade. ZANU-PF often accuses MDC-led councils of corruption and incompetence. Mafume's predecessor Hebert Gomba had also been arrested on allegations of criminal abuse of office. str-ger/gd/ri