Priest Held on Arms Charges

Police said today that they were holding a leading black clergyman and anti-apartheid campaigner on charges of illegal possession of arms and ammunition.

Father Smangaliso Mkhatshwa, general secretary of the Southern African Catholic Bishops Conference, was detained shortly after midnight, conference officials said. A police spokesman said the case was still being investigated and he did not know when the priest would appear in court. He gave no details of the quantity of arms Mkhatshwa was alleged to have had in his possession.