“We are seriously concerned that confiscating these radios and declaring them illegal will deprive people of an important means of accessing information at this critical period when national processes such as the Constitution making, the referendum and elections are taking place.
“MAZ hereby challenges police to reverse its arbitrary ban on radios and stop confiscating the devices as this violates citizens’
constitutional rights to receive information and make informed decisions on issues that affect their lives.”
Of late, the police have clamped down on civil society organisations and political parties distributing the radios to boost information flow particularly in non-urban communities and declared at a recent press conference that the radios would not be allowed.
Police say confiscating the radios is legal since they would be used to spread hate speech by Zimbabwe’s enemies.
“The state is obliged to protect platforms for citizens’ sources of information.”
MAZ, a partnership involving media advocacy and representative groups, advocates for media law and policy reform to ensure a free, fair, independent and pluralistic media.
“The radios are being illegally distributed by non-governmental organisations to disseminate hate speech ahead of the referendum and elections,” police spokesperson Assistant Commissioner Charity Charamba told journalists at a press conference.
Post published in: News