Name of Journalist(s) / Media House / Victim

Violation / Crime committed / Issue / Event / Announcement

Date of arrest / Occurrence of Event / Issue

Status of matter / proceedings

Pius Wakatama, newspaper columnist with the banned Daily News

Accused of publishing falsehoods under the Access to Information and Protection of Privacy Act (AIPPA) arising from an article published in the Daily News.

The article was published in the Daily News on 29 April 2002

The State withdrew charges on 10 March 2005 after it failed to prove its case.

Opposition MDC secretary-general Welshman Ncube

Accuses the Zimbabwe Broadcasting Holdings (ZBH) of sabotaging its election campaign programmes.

10 March 2005

ZBH executive chairman Dr Rino Zhuwarara said the issue should have been directed to Transmedia which is responsible for transmission.

Associated Newspapers of Zimbabwe (ANZ)

The ANZ was seeking an order allowing them to resume publication as well as challenging the constitutionality of AIPPA.

14 March 2005

The Supreme Court referred the matter back to the government-controlled Media and Information Commission for re-submission of its application to be registered. The Supreme Court also upheld the sections of AIPPA in question as constitutional.

Richard Musazulwa, correspondent with the weekly Standard newspaper

He is facing charges of abusing journalistic privilege under Section 80 (1) (b) of AIPPA.

Charges arise from a story published in the Standard on 22 August 2004 alleging that hungry Zanu PF youths had attempted to gatecrash a luncheon hosted by Air Force of Zimbabwe in Gweru.

Trial was postponed to 25 April 2005

President Robert Mugabe

In a speech laced with hate speech reported in The Herald, Mugabe described MDC leader Morgan Tsvangirai as a "nutty head".

29 March 2005

The Zimbabwean President was on the campaign trail in the small mining town of Bindura.

Toby Harnden, chief correspondent for the London Sunday Telegraph, photographer Julian Simmonds

Accused of covering the March 2005 parliamentary elections without official accreditation in terms of AIPPA as well as breaching the country’s Immigration Act.

31 March 2005

The pair was arrested at a polling station in Norton outside Harare. Remanded in custody. Trial underway. They had initially been granted bail of $1 million dollars each, which was revoked when the State invoked the Criminal Procedure and Evidence Act which gives the state powers to detain suspects for seven days.