Back to Index

Editor granted bail
MISA-Zimbabwe
June 20, 2005

Willie Mponda, the editor of The Sun, a Gweru-based weekly community newspaper, was on Friday remanded out of custody on $250 000 bail to 28 July 2005 on allegations of publishing falsehoods under the Public Order and Security Act (POSA).

Mponda is being charged with contravening Section 15 (1) (c) Chapter 11:17 of POSA which deals with the publication of a false statement prejudicial to the State.

In its edition of 10 June 2005, The Sun published a story claiming that a Gweru woman had committed suicide after the police destroyed two telephone shops belonging to her during the ongoing countrywide clean-up operation which the government says is designed to rid the country of illegal structures, street vendors and suspected criminals.

The State alleges that the police destroyed no phone shops and that no Gweru woman committed suicide as a result of the destruction.

It is alleged that the false statement was calculated to undermine the public’s confidence in the police force and the government.

If convicted, Mponda risks spending five years in jail or being fined $100 000 or both imprisonment and fine.

Visit the MISA-Zimbabwe fact sheet

Please credit www.kubatana.net if you make use of material from this website. This work is licensed under a Creative Commons License unless stated otherwise.

TOP