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Information minister attacks MISA
Media Institute of Southern Africa (MISA)
August 21, 2003

Online story publish on IFEX

On 20 August 2003, Zimbabwean Minister of State for Information and Publicity Jonathan Moyo attacked MISA for what he called "promotion of misunderstanding" between the Zimbabwean government and the private media.

Speaking in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, Moyo alleged that MISA is being used by the donor community to promote reports that the private media in the southern African country were operating in a hostile environment.

"[The] people who are promoting this misunderstanding is (sic) MISA . . . It is an organisation which is donor-created and donor-funded . . . It has a vision which is totally at odds with our reality," Moyo said, shortly after he toured media organisations owned by IPP Limited, which include Independent Television (ITV), Radio One Stereo, SKY FM radio station, East African Radio and The Guardian Limited.

According to "The Guardian" newspaper, the minister also described as "unfounded" reports that the Zimbabwean government was using harsh media laws to demand excessive loyalty from the media.

"It is not true that the government is demanding excessive loyalty from the media," the minister said, while arguing that journalists, "like anybody else in the country," had no special privileges.

Earlier, responding to an ITV journalist, Moyo played down accusations that his government is harassing the media in Zimbabwe, saying the accusations result from the government 's efforts to improve the media environment in the southern African country.

"If our government is not accused of anything, it is not doing anything. It shows we do so many things," he said.

BACKGROUND:
This is the second attack by a government official against MISA in less than a week. On 14 August, Namibian President Sam Nujoma launched a scathing attack on MISA and Gwen Lister, editor of "The Namibian" newspaper (see IFEX alert of 18 August 2003).

In his attack, Nujoma condemned MISA, which he said was "only out to insult [him] and other heads of state." He accused "The Namibian" newspaper and MISA of being "unprofessional" and "reactionary." He further instructed a reporter, Andreas Frai, of the Namibia Broadcasting Corporation (NBC, the national broadcaster), not to "work" with MISA.

In 2002, the Zimbabwean government enacted the Public Order and Security Act (POSA) and the Access to Information and Protection of Privacy Act (AIPPA), forcing the media in Zimbabwe to operate in a very restrictive legislative environment.

MISA regards the AIPPA's enactment in mid-March 2002 as a great blow to freedom of speech and media freedom. The Act created an all-powerful government-appointed Media and Information Commission (MIC), which is non-representative of diverse journalistic interests. The MIC has quasi-judicial and investigative powers that usurp the function of the courts and the police, respectively, and which allow it to unjustifiably and unconstitutionally intrude in the affairs of media houses and professionals.

Under AIPPA terms, accreditation of journalists and registration of media houses is mandatory for the practice of journalism. Foreign ownership of the media is outlawed and foreign correspondents are only permitted to register for a limited period.

In April 2003, however, the Zimbabwe Supreme Court passed a landmark judgment against the AIPPA, declaring Section 80 to be unconstitutional. Section 80 created what become known as the "false news offence". The applicants contended that the false news offence section constituted a breach of freedom of expression and protection of the law, as provided for in Sections 18 and 20 of the Zimbabwean constitution.

For further information, contact
Zoe Titus or Kaitira Kandjii, Regional Information Coordinator, MISA
Street Address: 21 Johann Albrecht Street
Mailing Address; Private Bag 13386 Windhoek, Namibia
tel: +264 61 232975, fax: +264 61 248016
e-mail: research@misa.org or kkandjii@misa.org
Internet: http://www.misa.org/http://www.misa.org/

**For further information on the POSA, see IFEX alerts of 2 July, 27, 25 and 12 June 2003, 18 February 2002 and others; for information on the AIPPA, see alerts of 16 June 2003, 25 November, 23 and 17 October, 19 June, 21 and 18 March 2002 and others**

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