Takaona was recently appointed to the newly constituted Zimbabwe Media Commission ZMC recently. At the December ZUJ election, Takaona was made a consultant for the union. He was also recently appointed to the newly constituted Zimbabwe Media Commission (ZMC).
The journalists have resolved to approach the ZMC to take action against him.
Takaona stands accused of holding an illegal rerun congress of ZUJ at a hotel in Bulawayo on Saturday that was boycotted by private media journalists and attended by less 20 journalists – mainly from small towns like Kadoma, Gwanda, Chinhoyi and Masvingo.
Freelance journalists Godwin Mangudya, Frank Chikowore, Conrad Mwanawashe, Guthrie Munyuki, Isdore Guvamombe of the Herald and Nqobani Ndlovu of the Standard, who are mounting the High Court challenge, were surprisingly nominated for various posts – a move they described as attempting to legalize the illegal congress.
The six are demanding that the ZUJ constitution should be changed before the elections are held.
The journalists yesterday described as scandalous and malicious a move by yesterdays ZUJ congress to nominate them for various positions in an election that they described as a sham.
Its a scandal. I did not contest, it is a sham election that is why we and other progressive journalists who have the interests of the union at heart, are challenging the event, to reclaim the union from hoodlums masquerading as journalists.
We are actually preparing to approach the Zimbabwe Media Commission (ZMC) with a complaint that one of their commissioners, an errant commissioner Takaona is meddling in union business and therefore is not a fair commissioner, Mwanawashe spokesperson for the six journalists group told The Zimbabwean. ***********
We want the commission chairperson and other commissioners to look into the matter of an errant commissioner who is meddling and causing divisions within the fraternity. We are going to push the commission to act, he added
Foster Dongozi, the secretary general of the old ZUJ executive being challenged, said the journalists were being fronted by politicians, NGOs and media employers who want to destroy the union.
Journalists (contesting the ZUJ congress) are being paid by politicians, NGOs and media employers who want to take control of the union in order to destroy it, Dongozi said.
Zimbabwes biggest trade union plunged into a leadership crisis last December when the outgoing leadership organised an elective congress outside Bulawayo without publicising the venue.
Post published in: News