Committee to Protect Journalists - Zimbabwe

Zimbabwean journalists targeted amid pre-election tension

2013-06-18T19:19:43Z

Cape Town, South Africa, June 18, 2013--All parties in Zimbabwe's government of national unity must respect the responsibility of journalists to document events and report the views of citizens, especially in the run-up to the country's elections in July, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. In four different cases this month, reporters have been attacked apparently in connection with their coverage of the country's two major political parties.

Zimbabwe journalists charged after military-MDC story

2013-05-08T18:23:41Z

Cape Town, South Africa, May 8, 2013--Police in Harare have filed criminal charges against two Zimbabwean journalists on accusations they published "false statements prejudicial to the state" in a story about behind-the-scenes discussions between military leaders and the opposition Movement for Democratic Change.

Zimbabwe must heed rule of law in Beatrice Mtetwa case

2013-03-21T21:03:21Z

Dear Minister: We are writing to express our concern about the arrest on Sunday of award-winning human rights lawyer Beatrice Mtetwa and her subsequent detention by police in defiance of an order issued by a high court judge. We believe this invalidates the criminal proceedings instituted against her on Wednesday and constitutes an affront to the constitution and legal system of your country.

Zimbabwe police raid station studios, detain journalist

2013-03-01T21:20:24Z

Nairobi, March 1, 2013--Authorities in Zimbabwe have stepped up their crackdown on independent news coverage in the country by raiding the production studios of a radio station and confiscating radios distributed by nongovernmental organizations, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today.

Zimbabwean police seize radios in run-up to elections

2013-02-28T16:08:12Z

Nairobi, February 28, 2013--Zimbabwean authorities' seizure of hand-cranked and solar-powered radios distributed by nongovernmental organizations prevents local citizens from accessing diverse sources of information in the run-up to the country's general elections in July, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today.

Zimbabwean police raid news agency, seize equipment

2012-10-03T22:15:12Z

Nairobi, October 3, 2012--The Committee to Protect Journalists condemns a police raid on a news production company in Belgravia, a suburb north of the capital, on September 26 in which several journalists were detained and equipment confiscated.

Zimbabwe detains, deports award-winning photojournalist

2012-05-18T20:07:48Z

On April 16, 2012, the Zimbabwe Republic Police in the southern border town of Beitbridge arrested Robin Hammond, a freelance photojournalist with dual U.K. and New Zealand citizenship, as he reported on migration between Zimbabwe and neighboring South Africa, government-controlled state daily The Herald reported.

Attacks on the Press in 2011: Zimbabwe

2012-02-21T05:36:00Z

Although official anti-press harassment continued a gradual decline from its peak after the disputed 2008 elections, a highly restrictive legal framework kept domestic, independent news sources to a mere handful. The fractious coalition between Robert Mugabe's ZANU-PF and Morgan Tsvangirai's MDC failed to implement the media reforms they had pledged to undertake in their 2008 power-sharing deal, leaving in place repressive laws such as the Access to Information and Privacy Protection Act. At least six journalists faced criminal defamation charges, including two staffers from the weekly Standard who were detained after covering a politician's arrest. Assailants broke into the offices of NewsDay and Masvingo Mirror, stealing computer hard drives and storage discs. Both break-ins followed critical coverage; no suspects were arrested in either case. Fearing the influence of revolutions in North Africa, authorities detained dozens of civil society members for watching footage of the Egyptian revolution at a public gathering. The European Union named six state media journalists among 200 Zimbabweans subject to sanctions for allegedly promoting violence during the 2008 polling.

Zimbabwe journalists face criminal defamation charges

2011-07-01T19:18:15Z

New York, July 1, 2011--Detectives today charged private weekly Standard Editor Nevanji Madanhire, reporter Patience Nyangove, and Human Resource Manager Loud Ramakgapola with criminal defamation. The three were arrested at the newspaper's offices in Harare Wednesday morning and later released, local journalists told CPJ.

Authorities arrested the three over a story Nyangove wrote on Sunday about the weekend detention of the minister of state in the prime minister's office, Jameson Timba, local journalists said.

In Zimbabwe, break-in at newspaper targets photos

2011-06-17T19:59:31Z

New York, June 17, 2011--The Committee to Protect Journalists calls on Zimbabwean authorities to thoroughly investigate a suspicious break-in at a newspaper's office on Thursday.

Suspicious break-in at Zimbabwe newspaper

2011-04-29T20:35:55Z

New York, April 29, 2011--The Zimbabwe Republic Police should consider all possible leads, including a political motive, in investigating a break-in at the offices of leading independent daily NewsDay on Monday in which computer hard drives of senior editorial staff were stolen, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today.

Attacks on the Press 2010: Africa Analysis

2011-02-15T05:55:00Z

Across Continent, Governments Criminalize
Investigative Reporting

By Mohamed Keita

Across the continent, the emergence of in-depth reporting and the absence of effective access-to-information laws have set a collision course in which public officials, intent on shielding their activities, are moving aggressively to unmask confidential sources, criminalize the possession of government documents, and retaliate against probing journalists. From Cameroon to Kenya, South Africa to Senegal, government reprisals have resulted in imprisonments, violence, threats, and legal harassment. At least two suspicious deaths--one involving an editor, the other a confidential source--have been reported in the midst of government reprisals against probing news coverage.

Attacks on the Press 2010: Zimbabwe

2011-02-15T05:02:00Z

Top Developments
• Press makes incremental gains as five private publication licenses are granted.
• Police, ZANU-PF loyalists harass, assault independent journalists.

Key Statistic
0: Broadcast licenses issued to private outlets since 2001.

Regulators granted five private publishing licenses, the first in seven years, opening a window for press freedom in this long-oppressed nation. But police harassment, regulatory intransigence concerning private broadcast licenses, and the government's unwillingness to pursue legal reforms ensured that the opening remained but a crack.

Zimbabwe hikes media fees under draconian media law

2011-01-13T15:08:50Z

New York, January 13, 2010--Zimbabwe's power-sharing government should repeal the Access to Information and Protection of Privacy Act (AIPPA), the Committee to Protect Journalists said today after a late 2010 amendment to the legislation hiked mandatory registration and accreditation fees for the press working in the country by as much as 400 percent.

Zimbabwe detains reporter on criminal defamation charges

2010-11-18T20:06:57Z

New York, November, 18, 2010--Reporter Nqobani Ndlovu remained in police custody today despite expectations that he would appear in court on criminal defamation charges, local journalists told CPJ. Police in Zimbabwe's second largest city, Bulawayo, arrested Ndlovu, a reporter for the private weekly Standard, on Wednesday and charged him with criminal defamation in relation to an article concerning the cancellation of police promotion examinations, according to local journalists.