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Acquittal
of MDC leader
Media Monitoring
Project Zimbabwe (MMPZ)
Extracted from Weekly Media Update 2004-41
Monday October 11th - Sunday October 17th
2004
THE acquittal
of MDC leader Morgan Tsvangirai on charges of high treason exposed
government media’s practice of embedded journalism under the ruling
ZANU PF’s misinformation campaign.
The Herald
(16/7) reported that in his ruling, High Court Judge President,
Justice Paddington Garwe noted that the State had failed to prove
"high treason beyond reasonable doubt" and
that the State’s key witness, Ari Ben Menashe, was a "suspect
witness whose evidence should be treated with caution".
The treason
charges against Tsvangirai stemmed from allegations in the run-up
to the controversial 2002 presidential elections that he hired a
Canadian political consultancy firm headed by Ari Ben Menashe to
assassinate President Robert Mugabe and install himself as president
of Zimbabwe through a coup de tat. If convicted Tsvangirai
could have faced a maximum sentence of a death penalty.
When the allegations
of treason arose, the official media unashamedly reported the issue
as if Tsvangirai’s guilt was a foregone conclusion. The State broadcaster,
for example, repeatedly aired extracts from the grainy videotape,
which Menashe secretly recorded in one of his meetings with Tsvangirai
and in which the MDC leader allegedly sought the "elimination"
of President Mugabe.
Such was the
State broadcaster’s apparent obsession with Tsvangirai’s treason
allegations that between February 13 and March 8 2002, ZTV carried
more than 30 reports, repeatedly airing extracts of the videotape
spewing hate language against Tsvangirai and the MDC. The station
even went on to produce its own documentary on the matter to reinforce
the allegations against Tsvangirai. The documentary was also shown
repeatedly on ZTV.
Furthermore,
the alleged assassination plot was recklessly used to vilify the
MDC as a violent and undemocratic party.
But their conduct
seemed to reflect the attitude of the authorities, which used the
allegations as a platform to malign the MDC by publicly portraying
Tsvangirai and the MDC as being guilty of trying to assassinate
Mugabe, well before the courts had ruled on the matter. For example,
in one of his presidential campaign rallies President Mugabe was
quoted on ZTV (19/02/2002, 8pm) saying to his supporters in Zvimba:
"We
knew about it (assassination plot) last year. We had the information
but did not want to publicize it because we wanted to avoid anarchy
in the country. It was later made public by those whom he told.
It came out in Australia so those are not lies at all. We are not
the manufacturers of the story. He said it while being taped. So
that is the videocassette, which was secretly recorded without his
knowledge. They thought it would cost $500 000 American dollars
(to assassinate me). $500,000 only? …"
Not to be outdone,
the state controlled Press also portrayed Tsvangirai’s guilt as
a foregone conclusion. For example, The Chronicle story Residents
call for Tsvangirai’s head of March 8 2002 quoted selected individuals
from Bulawayo who called on the courts to sentence Tsvangirai to
either life imprisonment or death.
"The
majority of residents and analysts said in separate interviews that
Mr. Tsvangirai, who is claiming to be fighting for democracy should
be left to feel the pain ‘of his sins’ by being sentenced to life
in prison …" reported the paper. In the same story,
one of the residents, Lucky Dzveta, was quoted saying: "They
should behead him, if he is convicted. This would put an end to
the acts of terrorism the man has been orchestrating".
Although all
media covered the acquittal, none of them reminded the public of
any of this context to the judge’s brave dispensation of justice.
The government media as exemplified by The Sunday Mirror
(17/10) lauded the ruling as a demonstration that Zimbabwe upholds
the rule of law, contrary to claims by the country’s alleged detractors.
Visit the MMPZ
fact sheet
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