(MISA/IFEX) – On Wednesday 22 August 2001, the Zimbabwean police arrested Mark Chavunduka, editor of “The Standard”, over the publication of a story in the Sunday 19 August edition of his newspaper claiming that President Mugabe was being haunted by the ghost of the late commander of the Zanla forces, Josiah Tongogara. On 22 August, […]
(MISA/IFEX) – On Wednesday 22 August 2001, the Zimbabwean police arrested Mark Chavunduka, editor of “The Standard”, over the publication of a story in the Sunday 19 August edition of his newspaper claiming that President Mugabe was being haunted by the ghost of the late commander of the Zanla forces, Josiah Tongogara.
On 22 August, Trevor Ncube, the newspaper’s managing director said Chavunduka had been charged with criminal defamation, but the police refused to name the complainant. “The police, however, categorically said the complainant was not the president or Jonathan Moyo, the minister of information and publicity,” Ncube said. “The police are saying that they are the complainants, but how can they say they have been defamed when they appear nowhere in the story?” he added.
He said the story originated from “The Sunday Times of London” and his newspaper picked it up from the Internet.
According to an article published by “The Standard on Sunday”, Chavunduka’s name and that of his news editor, Cornelius Nduna, are allegedly on a hit list of journalists compiled by the Central Intelligence Organisation.
Other journalists whose names also allegedly appear on the hit list are Geoffrey Nyarota, editor-in-chief of “The Daily News”, Iden Wetherell, editor of the “Zimbabwe Independent”, and Basildon Peta, special projects editor of “The Financial Gazette”.
Source: The Daily News (22 August 2001)
