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Journalists' Arrests
Weekly Media
Update # 2002/12 - extract
Media Monitoring
Project Zimbabwe
April 25, 2002
The week
witnessed the continuing harassment of journalists working for the
private press by government using repressive new media legislation
aimed at gagging the quality of information reaching the public.
The Daily News
editor, Geoff Nyarota, Zimbabwe Independent editor, Iden Wetherell
and his chief reporter, Dumisani Muleya, were arrested during the
week for violating the new Access to Information and Protection
of Privacy Act. Nyarota was arrested for publishing a story alleging
that the election was rigged, while Muleya, who was also charged
under the similarly restrictive Rhodesian criminal defamation law,
and Wetherell, were detained for a story linking Grace Mugabe to
a labour dispute between a white-owned company and an employee alleged
to be her brother.
All the media
reported these developments, although the public media only reported
condemnation of the arrests by local and international media watchdog
groups in the form of condemnation by Minister of Information, Jonathan
Moyo ZBC reporter Tonderai Katswara (ZTV, 15/04, 8pm) also attempted
to discredit The Daily News report by alleging that figures announced
by Registrar-General Tobaiwa Mudede did not tally with those that
were subsequently published in the media, stating that the paper
did not provide "factual evidence with the story". Minister Moyo
was quoted in the same bulletin as having said: "The claim by The
Daily News is a preposterous and deliberate falsehood consistent
with many previous claims made by the daily".
After the report
the ZTV newscaster read a statement issued by Moyo further discrediting
The Daily News' editorial (12/04) for alleging that the government
had failed to comply with the Abuja Accord. Moyo described the daily
as a "British sponsored paper behind the disinformation campaign
on behalf of the MDC". The state Press carried reports of the arrests
the next morning, similarly dominated by Moyo's unsubstantiated
comments.
SW Radio Africa
(16/04) quoted the ACP-EU co-president John Corrie condemning Nyarota's
arrest, which attracted a scathing response from Moyo on ZBC (ZTV,17/4,
8pm), who described his comments as "unacceptable, vulgar and perverse".
Moyo was busy
again in The Herald of the following day (18/4) launching yet another
emotional and vitriolic attack against an international media watchdog
organisation, Reporters Sans Frontieres (RSF). He accused RSF "of
promoting lawlessness" in Zimbabwe after it had written to him expressing
its concern over the arrest of the three journalists. Moyo was quoted
dismissing RSF as "nothing but a shameless partisan voice for imperial
Europe deserving of the greatest contempt".
The private
press performed more dispassionately, presenting their stories without
being tempted into an emotionally charged slanging match with the
minister. Nyarota arrested, The Daily News (16/4); International
Press Watchdog condemns Nyarota's arrest; The Daily News (17/4);
Independent editor arrested over Grace Mugabe story (18/4); Police
charge more journalists, The Financial Gazette (18/4); and Misa
condemns media blitz, The Zimbabwe Independent (19/4) are some examples.
Commendable
too, was The Daily News' efforts to follow up the fate of Ugandan
journalist Moses Oguti. The paper (19/4) reported him as languishing
in Harare Central prison since March after he was arrested in Mutare
for allegedly sneaking into the country illegally. He is now seeking
a High Court petition for his release.
The paper said
although a Mutare magistrate had fined Oguti $500 and ordered his
deportation, the police continued to detain him in a move the journalist's
lawyer described as "inhuman" and a contravention of "international
conventions relating to human rights".
The MEDIA UPDATE
is produced and circulated by the Media Monitoring Project Zimbabwe,
15 Duthie Avenue, Alexandra Park, Harare, Tel/fax: 263 4 703702,
E-mail: monitors@mweb.co.zw
or advocacy@media-monitors.icon.co.zw
Send all queries and comments to the Project Coordinator. Also,
please feel free to circulate this report. Previous copies of MMPZ
reports can be accessed at http://www.icon.co.zw/mmpz
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