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Zimbabwe's leading daily paper to fight registration law amid internal strife
Media Institute of Southern Africa - Zimbabwe Chapter (MISA-Zimbabwe)
January 06, 2003

The Daily News, Zimbabwe's leading daily paper has indicated that it would not register under the controversial law, the Access to Information and Protection of Privacy Act but would instead fight the law in the courts.

At a press conference on Thursday 2 January, the Executive Chairperson of the Associated Newspapers Group (ANZ) the publisher's of The Daily News, Samuel Sipepa Nkomo said that the paper had not applied for a licence. In dismissing allegations that the paper had parted ways with Geoff Nyarota its former Editor in Chief in order to facilitate registration by the state, Nkomo said that the ANZ infact intends to challenge the registration law and has not applied for a licence.

"ANZ has not applied to register under AIPPA because ANZ's lawyers are making final touches to a court application to challenge the constitutionality of the registration provisions," said Nkomo. "No trade off is possible for us on the legitimacy of AIPPA and for this reason we have sought to exercise our legal rights to protect the company from what we believe is an unconstitutional law, which will obstruct our ability to deliver news to our readers in an independent manner," said Nkomo. "Only our journalists and not the company have submitted applications for registration. Among those applications submitted was Geoff Nyarota's. Each of our journalists decided individually whether or not to register and the company merely facilitated the lodging of applications with the commission," said Nkomo.

The statement by Nkomo comes in the wake of serious concerns over developments at the paper, which saw its printing being suspended for days and senior editors leaving. The problems at the paper started with a strike on 17 December 2002 by ANZ workers that paralysed all operations leading to the paper not being printed for ten days. In dismissing Nyarota, Nkomo said that the Editor in Chief had sided with the striking workers and had organized for the payment of salaries for striking employees without authority. ANZ had frozen the salaries of the workers stating that they would not be paid since they were not working. Nkomo told the media that Strive Masiyiwa the majority shareholder in ANZ had approved the dismissal of Nyarota. Davison Maruziva, Nyarota's deputy resigned in protest over the dismissal of Nyarota and Nkomo has since appointed a new editorial team led by John Gambanga.

Nyarota has however dismissed Nkomo's assertions that he was fired but says he resigned in the interest of the paper. Nyarota also alleges that the future of the paper is uncertain as the majority shareholder Masiyiwa repeatedly told him that he wanted to close down the paper.

"After the strike I phoned the majority shareholder to tell him about what was going on and to express my concern about it, but Masiyiwa said he was not making any money from The Daily News, he was fed up and wanted to close the paper down," said Nyarota to the Zimbabwe Independent. Nyarota said that he was alarmed by these remarks. "Each time I spoke to Masiyiwa he said he was not making any money from The Daily News and wanted to close it. I asked him why he would not sale it but he insisted he wanted to close it down. He actually said: 'you don't understand me, I don't want money from The Daily News I want to close it" said Nyarota. Nyarota told the Zimbabwe Independent that Masiyiwa's statements were startling and unbelievable. " From that day onwards I became extremely worried and concerned. I told the ANZ Chairman, Nkomo, but he was none committal," said Nyarota. Nyarota added that he phoned Masiyiwa again on 24 December and was shocked even further. "Initially he told me that he was on holiday but in the end he said I kept on talking about The Daily News collapsing but its collapse would be good riddance. I was shocked, flabbergasted, amazed that those statements could come from Masiyiwa," said Nyarota.

In an interview with The Standard Nyarota alleges that Nkomo is bent on destroying The Daily News. Nyarota alleges that Nkomo, who is the brother of John Nkomo the Chairperson of the ruling party and Special Affairs Minister in President Mugabe's office is not suitable for the post he was given at the ANZ. Nkomo lost his job at a pension house after The Daily News, under Nyarota made allegations of corruption against him. Nyarota says he was surprised when Nkomo was appointed as the Executive Chairman of the ANZ after the majority shareholding of the paper was bought by Masiyiwa. "How can a man be appointed to head a paper which caused his downfall?" asked Nyarota.

Nkomo however denied that he was being vindictive. "Yes I left my previous job after The Daily News story but it is one subject we never discussed with Nyarota because I understood his position as a journalist. He had to do his job," said Nkomo.

Nyarota expressed fear that the paper will never be the same again because of the manner in which it is being managed.

For more information:
Rashweat Mukundu Research and Information Officer MISA-Zimbabwe
E mail: misa@mweb.co.zw

Visit the MISA-Zimbabwe fact sheet

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