Victim/ Concerned Party

Violation/ Event/issue

Date

Status of matter

Richard Musazulwa, correspondent with the weekly privately owned Standard.

Charged under Section 80 (1) (b) of the Access to Information and Protection of Privacy Act which deals with abuse of journalistic privilege and publication of falsehoods.

This followed a story published by the Standard on 22 August 2004 alleging that hungry ruling Zanu PF youths had attempted to gatecrash a luncheon hosted for senior ruling party officials by the Air Force of Zimbabwe and Thornhill Airbase in Gweru.

2 May 2005

He was acquitted of the charges after Gweru magistrate Auxillia Chiumburu ruled that the State had failed to prove its case as it had relied on hearsay evidence.

Radio Dialogue

Denied licence to operate a free to air commercial radio by the Broadcasting Authority of Zimbabwe (BAZ) in terms of the Broadcasting Services Act.

10 May 2005

The BAZ ruled that in its application for the licence, Radio Dialogue had described itself as a community radio station but had proceeded to apply for a free to air local commercial radio licence in Bulawayo.

Associated Newspapers of Zimbabwe (ANZ), publishers of the banned Daily News and Daily News on Sunday.

The High Court dismissed ANZ’s application seeking a declaratory order for its journalists to be accredited with the Media and Information Commission (MIC) in terms of the Access to Information and Protection of Privacy Act (AIPPA).

12 May 2005

The ANZ ceased publication on 11 September 2003 after the Supreme Court ruled that it was operating illegally as it was not registered with the MIC.

ANZ is still awaiting the determination of the application it submitted to the MIC as ordered by the Supreme Court in a later judgment in March 2005.

Frank Chikowore, freelance journalist

Assaulted and subsequently arrested by the police while covering a blitz on street vendors and suspected criminals in Harare’s central business district.

18 May 2005

Released on 19 May 2005 without charges after spending a night in police cells at Harare Central Police Station.

National Constitutional Assembly (NCA), a pressure group agitating for constitutional reforms.

The police barred the NCA from launching its album dedicated to agitations for a democratic constitution in terms of the Censorship and Entertainment Control Act.

18 May 2005

NCA chairman Lovemore Madhuku said the album, Singing for a New Constitution, had been widely distributed despite the police ban.

Bright Matonga, the deputy minister of Information and Publicity.

Matonga acknowledged that there was need to establish an independent media council. He was addressing Nigerian soldiers on Zimbabwe’s Information Policy.

18 May 2005

MISA-Zimbabwe has been on the forefront of campaigns for the establishment of an independent media council as opposed to the present situation where members of the MIC are appointed by the Minister of Information and Publicity.