Charamba was uncharitable towards The Herald when, at one point, she refused to give interviews. So when the order came to arrest a journalist, it was a task the police fell upon with great eagerness. Next there were allegations that Kudzayi is the Facebook character, Baba Jukwa, even though not long ago the state was confident they had unmasked Jukwa, who they identified as ‘two struggling journalists’, Mxolisi Ncube and Mkhululi Chimoio.
The charges that were later mentioned – terrorism, insurgency, banditry – evoke visions of rocket propelled grenades whistling through the air, rebels running wild, bullet riddled buildings reminiscent of Baghdad and thousands of running-screaming-bleeding civilians.
Among the entire Zimpapers stable, only one editor, Mududuzi Mathuthu of The Chronicle has commented about Kudzayi and the Baba Jukwa saga. The other scribes, either fearing reprisals or out of loyalty to their paymaster, have remained tight-lipped. Mathuthu published a longwinded opinion piece in which he implies Kudzayi is not Baba Jukwa because, well, his syntax is too perfect.