22 May 2002

Alert

"Daily News" editor-in-chief arrested in connection with ongoing case


Incident details

Geoffrey Nyarota



(MISA/IFEX) - Geoffrey Nyarota, editor-in-chief of the private daily newspaper "The Daily News", was arrested on Monday 20 May 2002 on allegations of publishing "falsehoods" and thereby breaching provisions of the Access to Information and Protection of Privacy Act.




Nyarota was arrested by police officers at around 10:00 a.m. (local time) at the offices of "The Daily News". He was released five hours later. The editor was arrested in connection with a story published in the 23 April edition of "The Daily News" that said two young girls had witnessed the decapitation of their mother by alleged supporters of the ruling Zimbabwe African National Union Patriotic Front (ZANU-PF) party in Magunje, province of Mashonaland West.

Nyarota's lawyer, Lawrence Chibwe of Stumbles and Rowe, told MISA-Zimbabwe that the editor was arrested and charged under Section 80 (1b) of the Access to Information and Protection of Privacy Act, for authorising the publication of "falsehoods" without verifying the facts.

Chibwe was not sure when Nyarota would be tried but said the police were going to proceed by way of summons once they had completed their investigation.

Background Information


The arrests of journalists Nyarota, Lloyd Mudiwa, Collin Chiwanza and Andrew Meldrum, a correspondent for the British newspaper "The Guardian", followed the publication of a 23 April article in "The Daily News".

A magistrate court in Harare ruled on 7 May that Mudiwa and Meldrum have a case to answer. The two journalists were remanded out of custody to 22 May. Charges against Chiwanza were dropped.

In a front-page story on 27 April, "The Daily News" apologised to the ruling party and to the government, after it was revealed that the husband of the victim had misled the newspaper.

The apology is in line with the requirements of the Access to Information and Protection of Privacy Act, which states that a publication must issue a retraction and apology in the event of its story being proven wrong. However, the police went on to arrest several journalists despite the apology. The journalists have also argued that they had not intended to lie but rather were genuinely misled.

The new media law places stringent measures on the media. If convicted, journalists face a fine of Z$100,000 (approx. US$1,800), up to two years in jail or both.





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More on this case

Legal action against journalist suspended 25 March 2003 Supreme Court expected to hear appeal in case against former editor 6 March 2003 Warrant issued for the arrest of journalist Geoffrey Nyarota 4 March 2003 CPJ releases first-person account of journalist's imprisonment 28 August 2002 Deportation order for U.S. journalist suspended 18 July 2002 Correspondent from "The Guardian" found not guilty of publishing falsehoods but served deportation order 15 July 2002 Thirteen journalists charged under repressive laws 3 July 2002 State trial of journalist Andrew Meldrum "likely to hit brick wall," says MISA 19 June 2002 Journalist from "The Guardian" goes on trial 13 June 2002 Two journalists to stand trial for writing "falsehoods" 3 June 2002 Charges dropped against journalist; another journalist arrested 8 May 2002 Journalists released, appear in court 7 May 2002 Three independent reporters arrested 2 May 2002

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