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Photojournalist arrested
MISA-Zimbabwe
July 15, 2005

Fidelis Zvomuya, an award-winning veteran photojournalist, was on 8 July 2005 detained for more than four hours by the police while covering the ongoing clean-up campaign dubbed Operation Restore Order.

He was arrested at Travos House along Jason Moyo Avenue in Harare after he had taken two pictures of a man who had been tied to a staircase in the building using his necktie.

Zvomuya who freelances for the privately-owned weekly Standard, was handcuffed and detained in the building for more than two hours before he was taken to Harare Central Police Station.

He was only released after paying a $250 000 admission of guilt fine for misconduct.

A former chief photographer with the government-controlled national daily The Herald, Zvomuya said he paid the fine just to secure his freedom. He said his arrest was an indication of the repressive nature of Zimbabwe’s media environment.

Davison Maruziva, the editor of The Standard, described the arrest as the actions of overzealous policemen.

“Zvomuya was taking pictures in a public place. If the police interpretation of the law is correct, it means all the tourists that the country is expecting to visit and spend their foreign currency will be at risk of arrest for merely taking pictures in public places.

“I believe that is an unfortunate signal to send to the outside world. Unless the police had something to hide, the arrest was both unfortunate and totally unnecessary.”

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