Victim/ Concerned Party

Violation/ Event/issue

Date

Status of matter

Weekly Times

The Media and Information Commission (MIC) threatens to close the Weekly Times for allegedly misleading the Commission on the thrust of its editorial policy.

5 January 2005

The Weekly Times has since responded to the Commission arguing against the intention to have its licence suspended or cancelled. The matter is still pending.

AIPPA (Amendment) Bill

President Robert Mugabe signs the Bill into law

7 January 2005

Under the Amendment Act it is now an offence for unaccredited or suspended journalists to practice without accreditation. Journalists caught on the wrong side of the law now risk a two-year jail term.

Vincent Kahiya, Dumisani Muleya, Iden Wetherell and Itai Dzamara

The four journalists who work for the Independent had been on remand for almost a year on charges of criminally defaming President Robert Mugabe

10 January 2005

Magistrate Crema Chipere removes them from remand after the State failed to set their trial date.

Pius Wakatama, renowned Zimbabwean newspaper columnist

Charged with publishing falsehoods under AIPPA after he allegedly repeated an allegedly false story published on April 29 2002 by the now banned Daily News

14 January 2005

Trial date has been set for March 10 2005

Frank Chikowore, a freelance journalist

Arrested while covering a demonstration by the Women of Zimbabwe Arise (WOZA) group, militant women’s pressure group.

18 January 2005

Released without charges after being detained at Harare Central Police Station.

Associated Newspapers of Zimbabwe (ANZ) publishers of the banned Daily News and Daily News on Sunday.

The Financial Gazette reported that judgment had been set for 7 February 2005 in the matter in which ANZ is fighting to resume publication.

27 January 2005

Judgment in the matter has been pending since March 2004 when the Supreme Court reserved judgment after consolidating the appeals and counter-appeals by the ANZ and MIC respectively.