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"Media trial" threatens justice
Media Monitoring Project Zimbabwe
Extract from Weekly Media Update No. 26
July 22nd - July 28th 2002

The dangers of ignoring reporting restrictions in cases where criminal charges are imminent became apparent during the week when both The Daily News and The Herald (25/7) back-tracked on allegations originally raised by The Zimbabwe Standard (21/7) at the end of the previous week that MDC MP Learnmore Jongwe had caught Rutendo having an affair.This was picked up by the two dailies the following day (22/7), after Jongwe had been arrested, quoting his lawyer, Jonathan Samkange, at length and in detail specifically saying that the MP had discovered his wife being intimate with a lawyer and that Jongwe had stabbed Rutendo later in a fit of rage.

These unsubstantiated allegations of infidelity raised a storm of protest, mainly from women's groups protesting the violent nature of Rutendo's death (The Herald 23/7) and that the allegations had been manufactured in a "futile attempt to justify Jongwe's 'animalism,'" although the paper never specifically attributed this comment.

However, in reporting Jongwe's remand hearing, there is no mention of the infidelity in the state allegations, according to The Herald (25/7). Instead, the state alleged that it was the discovery that Rutendo was planning to divorce him that enraged Jongwe, the paper reported.

As a result, a shadow of doubt has now been cast over the veracity of the earlier claims in all three papers and conversely, affects the authenticity of the state allegations. Reporting restrictions in such cases exist to prevent the publication of any statements or comment likely to influence the decision of the court and it is debatable whether such a "media trial" constitutes a breach of this requirement and therefore a contempt of court.

Notably, The Daily News report of the remand simply restricts itself to the fact that the State alleges Jongwe stabbed Rutendo "during a domestic dispute at their...home."

But if these reports warrant censure for possibly compromising the conduct of a fair trial - for both Rutendo and Jongwe - the torrent of invective that poured from the state media convicting Jongwe of murder in its efforts to portray the MDC as a violent party, should be condemned for its grossly unethical and distorted content.

Following Jongwe's arrest on Sunday (21/7), ZTV (22/7 8pm) capitalized on the "horrific and violent" nature of Rutendo's "callous" death, reporting how the people the station interviewed had expressed "shock.at the murder". And in an unsubstantiated reference insinuating the inherent violence of the MDC, it reported that Rutendo's friends and relatives had "refused to comment on camera citing fear of reprisals from the MDC network."

Some idea of the fabricated nature of this claim was provided in the next morning's edition of The Herald, which quoted both friends and relatives of the dead woman commenting on the tragedy.

MMPZ has addressed the unethical and prejudiced nature of The Herald's editorial on Tuesday (23/7) in an earlier report, but it stands further scrutiny here.

It's purpose was to question the silence of the European Union, Britain, America, and the "white Commonwealth" over Rutendo's death and accuse them of being complicit "as their silence means that it is acceptable for the MDC to display such impunity towards human life." Echoing Jonathan Moyo, the editorial called Jongwe "the personification of the MDC" and said that "the chilling murder of Rutendo" has shown that MDC's violence "is now being directed against its own innocent women".

Besides attempting to portray a tragic incident of domestic violence as part of the MDC's politically violent nature warranting the censure of the international community, The Herald here, and elsewhere in its columns, pre-empted the outcome of Jongwe's trial by repeatedly referring to Rutendo's death as "murder". Such disdain for the due process of the country's judicial system constitutes a clear case of contempt and should be censured if trials in the media are not to usurp the authority of the courts.

The Herald's innocuously headlined story, 'EU diplomats attend opening of Parliament' (24/7), disguised a particularly malicious and lengthy diatribe from Information Minister, Jonathan Moyo, attacking the EU, the MDC, human rights NGOs and Western diplomats claiming to uphold the issues of human rights for remaining silent over "the cold-blooded murder by no lesser a (sic) person who is not only a spokesperson of their party, but (also) a lawyer."

"They [the EU] have institutionalised violence in this country. But now, it's for all the world to see that the party they formed, MDC, is a violent party", he was quoted as saying.

The same story carried the paper's only report on the MDC MPs' boycott of President Mugabe's address at the opening of Parliament. But this too, was subjected to Moyo's irrational and vitriolic attention which contained an offensive and insensitive reference to Rutendo's death: "Their childish.walk-out was a blessing in disguise in that it enabled the President to address Parliament and the nation in the absence of wife-killers and British puppets being used to engage in meaningless posturing on behalf of racist white commercial farmers."

And the editorial in the same issue of the paper (24/7) reinforced this collective blame:
"Exhibiting the same impunity that led to the brutal and cold-blooded murder of Rutendo Muusha-Jongwe by opposition spokesman, Learnmore Jongwe, MDC MPs walked out of Parliament during President Mugabe's opening address." the comment stated.

"With their hands still dripping with the blood of Rutendo, the MDC legislators show no remorse neither do they seek to hide from their shame", the editorial claimed by way of demonstrating that the MPs had no respect for Zimbabwe.

That evening ZTV (24/7 8pm) followed up on Moyo's theme and used his accusation in the paper, that Samkange had been "hiding Jongwe" from the police, as an excuse to amplify the impression that the MDC is a violent party. Reporter Douglas Rinomhota stated: "Despite a well-documented history of public violence and prosecutions involving top MDC officials now facing allegations ranging from public violence, the party's Secretary-General, Prof Welshman Ncube, says his party is not violent."

Although ZBC gave Ncube the opportunity to respond, Rinomhota swamped Ncube's denials with a catalogue of cases implicating the MDC. And to compound the misuse of the word "prosecutions" in his introduction, the reporter failed to mention that not a single successful prosecution has been made in any of the cases he mentioned. ZTV (26/7 8pm) reported the mugging of the Media Commission chairman, Dr Tafataona Mahoso on his way home from a state banquet, but was also obliged to run another intemperate and irrational statement from Minister Moyo insinuating - again without evidence - that the attack was somehow the work of the MDC: "..the savage attack on Doctor Mahoso is without doubt yet another example of ongoing unacceptable spate of violence perpetuated by the usual political cowards in our midst who have become so dangerously desperate that they are now intensifying their barbarism of public and domestic violence."

The Herald (27/7) carried the story the next day together with Moyo's comments and an additional rhetorical question: "Are these barbaric acts the beginning of the much talked about mass action?"

Monitored coverage of Rutendo's death on SW Radio Africa depended largely on Jongwe's lawyer, Jonathan Samkange and Lucia Mativenga, chairperson for the MDC Women's Assembly, who was quoted (24/07) condemning Rutendo's death and all other forms of violence.

The station (25/07) also quoted Samkange saying the matter had been politicized by people who had a score to settle with Jongwe. He also complained about the conditions under which his client was being held in prison, a theme that had appeared in The Daily News earlier that day in its report of Jongwe's remand hearing.

Previous reports can be accessed at http://www.mmpz.org.zw

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