The Media Institute of Southern Africa (MISA) Zimbabwe chapter advocacy officer, Thabani Moyo, said the country has not moved an inch in doing away with all laws that curtail press freedom, although freedom of the press was clearly spelt in the new constitution.
"We still have tough media laws that need to be repealed for the citizens to enjoy freedom of the press and freedom of expression. We urge the authorities to immediately repeal them,” he said.
The Access to Information and Protection of Privacy Act AIPPA criminalises the work of journalists. "If a teacher or carpenter makes a professional mistake there are mechanism and ways of resolving this but if a journalist makes a professional mistake in this country he or she is arrested," said Moyo.
He also criticised the Interception of Communications Acts, which he said gave unchecked powers to the police. "Under this law police can intercept your communication if they suspect that a crime is about to be committed. The same police will issue a warrant of interception and at the same time they have the powers to arrest you. We feel the police are being given too much power and therefore in my view the issuance of an interception warrant should be done by a court of law to ensure that at least there is fairness," said Moyo.
Post published in: News