Media blackout on Constitution

On Monday journalists had to spend the whole day waiting for accreditation as officials at the temporary accreditation office said that they had received an order from the Select Committee that journalists must not be accredited. A rather arrogant official only identified as Hama defied orders from members of parliament who are in the Select Committee saying that only he could sanction accreditation.

“I am sorry to tell you that there is no place for journalists here and we are not going to accredit you,” Hama told journalists. Asked to intervene, Douglas Mwonzore, the Co-Chairperson of the Steering Committee, referred the journalists to his Co-Chairman Paul Mangwana who was not immediately available. The action by COPAC contrasted sharply with Mwonzores call to the media to cover the event in a balanced and unbiased manner.

When asked to help the journalists, MDC-T House of Assembly Member Albert Chibaya who is also a member of COPAC said that there was nothing he could do since the committee had already decided to cut off the media. “I cannot help you because my hands could be burnt,” he said.

It is not clear why COPAC has decided to muzzle the media but sources at COPAC are saying disengaging the journalists was a deliberate action by the steering committee so that the media would not ‘pre-empt’ the findings of the outreach teams. Zimbabwe Union of Journalist President Mathew Takaona described the media stifling by COPAC as unfortunate. “The essence of the constitution is that it should be open and involve the people, and only the media can help people share information and enable feedback, without the media you cannot have such feedback,” said Takaona.

Meanwhile Zanu (PF) is said to have instructed chiefs and headmen to hand pick individuals who will make contributions to the outreach teams while those holding different views are being intimidated and ultimately silenced.

According to impeccable sources, only people chosen by chiefs will make contributions in public as to what they want included in the constitution that is expected to usher in a new supreme document that reflects the views of Zimbabweans. “Zanu (PF) is still determined to foist the Kariba Draft on the people and they are now using the chiefs and headmen to influence people with ideas that are contained in the Kariba Draft,” said the source.

“COPAC does not want journalists involved because journalists would expose them and it is regrettable that MDC parties in COPAC did not see this if you look at the number of people in the outreach teams most of them are known Zanu (PF) supporters and most outspoken NGOs are not involved in the process,” said the source

While there is relative peace in urban areas, fear still pervades most of Zimbabwe rural areas and organizations like the National Constitution Assembly (NCA) which is synonymous with a people’s driven constitution has called upon Zimbabweans not to participate in the process that is led by politicians.