Zimbabwe

(MISA/IFEX) – On 29 April 2001 “The Standard” reported that one of the newspaper’s correspondents was attacked last week by suspected Zimbabwe African National Union – Patriotic Front (ZANU-PF) youths in Ruwa’s Mandalay Park. Ruwa is a small town thirty kilometres outside Harare. The journalist, Samuel Mungadze, was investigating claims that people in the surrounding […]

(MISA/IFEX) – On 26 April 2001, “The Daily News” reported that on Tuesday 24 April, lawyers representing “Daily News” political reporter Sandra Nyaira gave Minister of State for Information and Publicity in the President’s Office Jonathan Moyo and “The Herald” newspaper three days to retract a defamatory story carried by the newspaper or jointly face […]

(MISA/IFEX) – Police investigations into the abduction and torture of two journalists of the weekly “The Standard”, Mark Chavunduka and Ray Choto, have run into a brick wall of political and bureaucratic obstacles, one year after the retired chief justice, Anthony Gubbay, ordered an inquiry, the “Zimbabwe Independent” reported on 20 April 2001. In a […]

(MISA/IFEX) – Minister of State for Information and Publicity Jonathan Moyo has said that the privately owned media is an oppositional press and should not expect to be treated with kids gloves, “The Sunday Mail” reported on 22 April 2001. Writing an opinion piece in the state owned “The Sunday Mail”, Moyo attacked the privately […]

(CPJ/IFEX) – The following is a 19 April 2001 CPJ press release: ZIMBABWE: Information minister fails to gag weekly paper New York, April 19, 2001 — Jonathan Moyo, Zimbabwe’s beleaguered minister of state for information and publicity, has suffered a setback in his latest court battle with the country’s independent press. On April 17, a […]

(MISA/IFEX) – In a 9 April 2001 meeting, government representatives, governors of the local content committee, Zimbabwe Broadcasting Corporation (ZBC) board and management agreed that the ZBC needs to serve the Zimbabwean public better and meet the demands of public broadcasters in the new millennium, “The Herald” reported on 10 April. It was agreed that […]

(MISA/IFEX) – The government has replaced six of its eight Provincial Information Officers (P.I.O.s) as it tightens it grip on the media ahead of the presidential election next year, “The Daily News” reported on 7 April 2001. George Charamba, permanent secretary of the Department of Information and Publicity, said on Thursday 5 April that his […]

(MISA/IFEX) – Civic groups said the Broadcasting Services Act 2001 gives Information and Publicity Minister Jonathan Moyo excessive powers, “The Daily News” reported on 7 April 2001. The groups said the new act, currently awaiting President Mugabe’s signature, would enable the minister to control any new private radio and television stations and community radio stations, […]

(MISA/IFEX) – In what seems like a stance identical to that of the ruling establishment, which advocates limiting media ownership to nationals, on Saturday 7 April 2001, Zimbabwean journalists intimated that they were opposed to foreign control of local media. The Zimbabwe Union of Journalists (ZUJ) accused former colonial power Britain of trying to strengthen […]

(MISA/IFEX) – The Zimbabwean government may declare a state of emergency if calls for sanctions succeed in Europe and the United States, “The Herald” and “The Daily News” reported on 6 April 2001. Speaking in parliament on Thursday 5 April, Minister of Foreign Affairs Stan Mudenge said that if a state of emergency is imposed, […]

(MISA/IFEX) – Opposition Movement for Democratic Change Member of Parliament Welshman Ncube, a member of the Parliamentary Legal Committee, has said the new Broadcasting Services Bill was fast-tracked because the government did not want to leave the sector without regulations, “The Daily News” reported on 6 April 2001. Ncube said the broadcasting bill was “a […]

(MISA/IFEX) – The Freedom of Information Bill that the government has proposed would regulate the flow of information, indicate under what circumstances information held by individuals or about individuals would be released or made public, and outline which information is protected in the interests of national security, public order, health, financial security and banking processes, […]

(MISA/IFEX) – The Minister of State for Information and Publicity, Professor Jonathan Moyo, has defended the Broadcasting Services Act 2001, saying that the adverse report by the Parliamentary Legal Committee has no bearing since the House is superior and has the final say, “The Financial Gazette” reported on 5 April 2001. In an interview with […]

(MISA/IFEX) – Geoffrey Nyarota, editor-in-chief of “The Daily News”, and two of his reporters, Sandra Nyaira and Julius Zava, were charged with criminal defamation on Wednesday 4 April 2001, according to a 5 April “The Daily News” report. The charges arise from the publication of a story linking President Robert Mugabe and the speaker of […]

(MISA/IFEX) – The High Court has ordered the “Zimbabwe Independent” to show cause why it should not be stopped from publishing stories of an alleged lawsuit by the Ford Foundation against Minister of State for Information and Publicity Jonathan Moyo, “The Herald” reported on Wednesday 4 April 2001. Justice Chinhengo issued the order on Tuesday […]

(MISA/IFEX) – The controversial Broadcasting Services Bill 2001 was passed into law on 3 April 2001. All Zimbabwe African National Union-Patriotic Front (ZANU-PF) legislators, who are in the majority, rejected a second adverse report by the Parliamentary Legal Committee, opting instead for a speedy adoption of the bill, MISA-Zimbabwe established on 4 April. The opposition […]