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Attorney General's office says police and Media and Information Commission in defiance of the law
Media Institute of Southern Africa - Zimbabwe Chapter (MISA-Zimbabwe)
January 21, 2004

Zimbabwe Attorney Generals Office says the police and the government appointed Media and Information Commission are defying its advice to vacate the premises of the Associated Newspapers of Zimbabwe (ANZ), publishers of the Daily News and The Daily News on Sunday. The AG’s office said this as The ANZ was granted another order for the police to vacate its premises at the High Court on 21 January 2003.

The High Court ordered for the second time that the police vacate the premises of Associated Newspapers of Zimbabwe (ANZ), since no application has been made by the police or MIC seeking the continued occupation of the premises of the media house.

In a ruling made on 21 January, Judge Tendai Uchena said that the police were unlawfully occupying the premises of the media house since they never appealed against an earlier ruling ordering them to leave the premises. The Attorney General's office which appeared on behalf of the police and the Media and Information Commission (MIC) conceded that its advice to the police and the MIC has gone unheeded. A lawyer from the AG’s office told the court that they have advised the police that their continued siege of the ANZ premises is illegal.

"I conceded that since there was no application by the respondent (police and MIC) for stay of execution of Administrative Court ruling granting that the respondent vacate the ANZ premises and ordered that The Daily News should publish, that order remains in force and I have advised my client, the respondent (police and MIC) of this position, but my advice has not been accepted and they persist in their occupation of the applicants premises," said the AG’s lawyer.

The ANZ went to the High Court for the second time seeking an order to resume operations. This follows police refusal to vacate the ANZ premises despite Justice Uchena’s judgement passed on 9 January ordering that the police should end its occupation of the ANZ premises. The police have been occupying the ANZ premises since it was closed down in September 2003.

Background
The police have continued defying Administrative and High Court orders granted since 2003 ordering them to vacate premises of the ANZ. Despite being served with the orders, police ignored it and stayed put at the premises, preventing journalists from accessing the newsroom. The government has appealed to the Supreme Court to have the paper remain closed. The latest judgement follows another one on 9 January and an administrative court ruling on 19 December by Judge Selo Nare, granting that the ANZ resume publishing. The media house was closed on 12 September 2003 on allegations of operating without a license.

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