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Journalists, detained, beaten, searched and equipment confiscated
Media Institute of Southern Africa - Zimbabwe Chapter (MISA-Zimbabwe)
June 03, 2003

Two journalists from the Voice of the People Communications Trust or VOP were on Monday 2 June detained and beaten by ruling party ZANU PF youths and war veterans and had their mobile phones and recorders confiscated.

Shorai Katiwa and Martin Chimenya are reporters with the VOP, which transmits news to Zimbabwe via short wave. The two went to the University of Zimbabwe to cover a demonstration by students who intended to march in support of a mass action called for by the main opposition party the Movement for Democratic Change. On their way from the University of Zimbabwe were they could not find any students as they had been dispersed by the police, they passed through a nearby shopping centre where students were said to be gathering after fleeing the campus. Upon seeing a group of people the two approached them with questions, thinking that it was the students. The group was however made up of war veterans and ZANU PF youths. Katiwa and Chimenya were immediately detained, searched and had their two mobile phones and minidisk recorders taken by the group. After interrogation the journalists were beaten. The war veterans and the ZANU PF youths were said to have been incensed further when they found business cards of opposition members of parliament in the wallets of the two. They accused the journalists of being MDC members and working in support of the mass action.

According to John Masuku the Coordinator of VOP who spoke to MISA-Zimbabwe the journalists were taken to Borrowdale Police station for further interrogation. From Borrowdale they were taken to the ZANU PF headquarters in the city centre were they were beaten and further interrogated. The two were asked how they send their programmes for broadcasting, to which they replied that they use a computer, which is at their coordinators, (Masuku’s) home. The police and intelligence officers were then called and asked to accompany the journalists to see computer that is used to send the programmes. Masuku told MISA-Zimbabwe that the police vehicle approached him when he was just leaving a shopping centre in his neighbourhood. Armed police surrounded his car ordering him to come out of the car. The police said they wanted to interrogate him over the programmes VOP sends out. Masuku went with the police to his home were they searched the whole house and took away VOP administrative files and the computer to the Harare Central Police Station. The police however said that since it was late in the evening they were surrendering the two journalists into the custody of Masuku and they were supposed to report to the police station the following day.

On Tuesday 3 June, Masuku, Katiwa and Chimenya went back to the Central police station in the company of their lawyer, Jacob Mafume. The police told them that they did not find anything suspicious in the computer nor the files. These were immediately returned to them. The police however said that they could not do anything about the mobile phones and minidisks. They advised the two journalists to make a report to the police that the property was stolen. Masuku said they have since made the report.

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