HARARE - Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai's office has condemned a police crackdown on the media, saying the arrest and intimidation of journalists was contrary to the spirit of the global political agreement (GPA). (Pictured: George Chiramba Mugabes press secretary who is believed
The GPA that gave birth to unity government envisages the creation of a free media as part of efforts to entrench democracy in Zimbabwe.
Jameson Timba, the Minister of State in the PM’s office, said the office had contacted ministries in charge of state security agencies to urge them to stop the escalating harassment against the independent Press.
He said: “The arrest of Nevanji and Ndlovu is not only against the spirit of the GPA but flies in the face of the efforts to achieve media freedom in Zimbabwe.
You do not have to like what journalists write. You must respect their freedom to inform, educate and entertain. I condemn this arrest and I have communicated our position to the relevant ministers.”
Timba rejected charges that the MDC has become too comfortable in the GNU and had forgotten the media legislative reform agenda.
He said the MDC was planning to table a Freedom of Information Bill in Parliament, which he said seeks to revamp the media landscape and ensure that journalists lawfully carrying out their work are able to do so without fear of arrest and intimidation.
Asked about the failure to bring the Bill to the house over the past two years and to repeal AIPPA and other pieces of legislation used to harass journalists, Timba said:
“You must understand this to be a fight. Any legislative reform represents a loss of power for Zanu (PF).
So whatever that we share, including the Cabinet committee on legislation is a battle ground. You should expect in this current session the Freedom of Information bill which represents the fights and victories that have been taking place behind the scenes.”
In the last month, several journalists have faced detention and interrogation, threats of criminal prosecution, and other forms of intimidation.
The editor of The Standard, Nevanji Madanhire, was detained last week after handing himself to Rhodesville Police Station after police said his paper had published false news about police examinations.
A Harare magistrate freed Madanhire on US$100 bail last Wednesday, refusing to put the journalist under stringent bail conditions as requested by the state.
Madanhires arrest came hard on the heels of the 10-day detention in Khami Prison of Nqobani Ndlovu, who is with The Standards Bulawayo bureau and authored the story in question.
His bureau chief Dumisani Sibanda had also been taken in for questioning earlier.
The police have also issued a warrant of arrest against the of The Zimbabwean, Wilf Mbanga, over a story that ironically appeared in another publication that is not related to The Zimbabwean.
Meanwhile the MDC has also condemned the arrests, detention and prosecution of journalists at a time when the inclusive government is supposed to be working hard to open up space for freedom of expression and communication.
“What is unsettling is that only journalists from the privately owned media have been targeted by the police for continuous arrests while those in the state media have an open licence to do as they wish,” MDC spokesman Nelson Chamisa said.
“The selective application and abuse of the existing legal instruments to target independent journalists shows a deliberate attempt to muzzle debate and purvey a particular viewpoint which favours the sunset party, Zanu (PF).”
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