Zimbabwe: Fourth journalist arrested

IFEX - News from the international freedom of expression community
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PRESS RELEASE/UPDATE - ZIMBABWE

14 January 2004

Fourth journalist arrested and charged

SOURCE: Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ), New York

**New case and update to IFEX alerts of 12 January 2004**

(CPJ/IFEX) - The following is a CPJ press release:

FOURTH JOURNALIST IN ZIMBABWE ARRESTED AND CHARGED

New York, January 14, 2004-Itai Dzamara, a reporter with the Harare-based
independent weekly The Independent, and the paper's general manager, Raphael
Khumalo, were arrested today after presenting themselves to police at Harare
Central Police Station. Both were summoned yesterday to appear at the
station for questioning this morning.

The arrests followed the publication of a story in the January 9 edition of
The Independent co-authored by Dzamara alleging that Zimbabwean President
Robert Mugabe had commandeered an Air Zimbabwe plane for his trip to East
Asia, thereby stranding passengers who were slated to fly on the plane
between Harare and London. The piece also quoted a source saying that the
plane carried containers for storage of goods Mugabe might acquire on his
trip.

Dzamara was charged with criminal defamation before being released this
afternoon. Khumalo was released today without charge.

Dzamara will likely appear with three other Independent journalists in court
on January 29. Police arrested Independent Managing Editor Iden Wetherell,
News Editor Vincent Kahiya, and reporter Dumisani Muleya on Saturday,
January 10, also in connection with the January 9 article.

Information Minister Jonathan Moyo described the report as "blasphemous,"
saying it was a "deliberate falsehood calculated to bring the office of the
president into disrepute," the BBC reported.

Muleya said that during interrogation by police, he was asked to reveal
their sources but refused. The three journalists were charged with criminal
defamation. On Monday, January 12, they were released on 20,000 Zimbabwean
Dollars (US$25) bail each after appearing in court. Their next court hearing
is scheduled for January 29.

Meanwhile, on January 13, the state-owned daily The Herald published an open
letter from Media and Information Commission (MIC) head Tafataona Mahoso to
Wetherell accusing The Independent of racism for publishing a letter to the
editor claiming that Zimbabweans are stupid and comparing them to wild
animals. Mahoso concluded the letter by writing, "All publishers and editors
in Zimbabwe should consider this MIC statement as a warning to them as well
and not just to the Zimbabwe Independent."

The Independent editor disputed the claim that the column's remarks were
racist, saying the letter was a legitimate part of the national discourse on
the country's political and economic crisis. Wetherell said he believes that
the MIC could use the racism charge as a pretext to deny registration to the
publication or accreditation to its journalists.

CPJ is a New York-based, independent, nonprofit organization that works to
safeguard press freedom worldwide. For more information about press
conditions in Zimbabwe, visit www.cpj.org.

For further information, contact Africa Program Coordinator Julia Crawford
or Research Associate Adam Posluns at CPJ, 330 Seventh Ave., New York, NY
10001, U.S.A., tel: +1 212 465 1004, fax: +1 212 465 9568, e-mail:
[email protected], Internet: http://www.cpj.org/

The information contained in this press release/update is the sole
responsibility of CPJ. In citing this material for broadcast or publication,
please credit CPJ.
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