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 Operating in Zimbabwe as a journalist is like walking blindfolded through a minefield.
Despite a constitutional provision guaranteeing freedom of expression, freedom of the press is not mentioned. The constitution negates itself by further stating that freedom of expression can be curtailed in all sorts of circumstances, such as in the interests of public order, health, or the national interest. At independence, the Mugabe regime inherited an arsenal of laws to muzzle the media. Included in this was the Broadcasting Act of 1976, which prohibits any independent radio and television broadcasts. For the first two decades these were sufficient. In fact they were hardly used. With radio and TV firmly in its pocket, the new government moved swiftly to acquire majority shares in the country’s largest newspaper group and set up its own national news agency. The media was in safe hands and for many years the euphoria of independence and nation-building took precedence over everything else. But as bad governance and corruption mounted, criticism from various quarters grew. This culminated in the launch of the first independent daily, the Daily News, in 1999, and the formation of the Movement for Democratic Change, the first real opposition since independence, shortly thereafter. The battle for hearts and minds had begun in earnest. As Mugabe began to lose his grip on power, he became increasingly despotic and found a ready ally in the dusty statute books of his nemesis Ian Smith. His obsession with controlling the minds of the people grew, as he deluded himself that the public still loved him as their saviour from colonial oppression. He found a kindred spirit in his Minister of Information, Jonathan Moyo, who, together with Justice Minister Patrick Chinamasa, crafted the draconian and misnamed Access to Information and Protection of Privacy Act (AIPPA). Chinamasa also introduced POSA (Public Order and Security Act) which superseded the hated colonial era Law and Order Maintenance Act, many of whose provisions had been struck down as unconstitutional by the Supreme Court of Zimbabwe during the previous two decades.  Between them, these two laws have demolished freedom of expression, including that of the press, in Zimbabwe. 
Between them, these two laws have demolished freedom of expression, including that of the press, in Zimbabwe. AIPPA brought into being the Media and Information Commission, under which all newspapers have to be registered and all journalists licensed. The MIC shut down five newspapers during the first two years of its existence. POSA made public gatherings illegal and contained numerous clauses forbidding criticism of the president in any shape or form – from waving a two-fingered sign at his convoy to publishing anything that could be deemed to bring his name into disrepute. Extra-judicial measures were employed to silence the opposition. Fear was the main weapon. Zealous Zanu (PF) party members took it upon themselves to threaten independent newspaper vendors and readers. Party bigwigs would ‘ban’ newspapers from their rural areas of influence, through the use of youth brigades and ‘vigilant citizens’. Advertisers would be threatened. All this happened frequently in the time of the Daily News, and there is mounting evidence that it is happening again now with the Zimbabwean. Over the past few years, more than 100 journalists have been arrested and imprisoned. Despite the plethora of legal instruments available, not one of them has ever been convicted of an offence. Over the past few years, more than 100 journalists have been arrested and imprisoned. Despite the plethora of legal instruments available, not one of them has ever been convicted of an offence. As his grip on power was threatened by his own comrades-at-arms a few weeks ago, Mugabe threw his arsenal of statutes to the wind, and, with horrifying speed and effectiveness, equipped and deployed an army of brutal thugs in police uniform to thrash opposition and civic group leaders, as well as hundreds of ordinary citizens. The use of terror, always lurking in the shadows, has now come into the open. The beatings, and a number of apparent murders, of the past four weeks has upped the stakes considerably. By law, anyone arrested must be brought before a magistrate within 48 hours. But the police are increasingly disregarding this. The police force itself has suffered major resignations of professionals and its ranks have been swelled by ill-educated, unemployed youths trained in the notorious Border Gezi training camps of the 1990s. With Mugabe’s blessing, they have taken the law into their own hands. Any perceived enemy of Mugabe’s is their enemy - to be viciously assaulted and left for dead. Just this week the body of a former ZBC cameraman, Edward Chikomba, was found after he had been kidnapped from his home. His crime? Filming the injuries of the beaten MDC and civil leaders last month. Any pretence of the law taking its course through the court system has been abandoned. In many instances, such as that of the Zimbabwean’s chief reporter Gift Phiri this week, the police wait until they are forced by High Court injunctions before bringing those arrested before a magistrate – long after the 48 hours is up. In most instances they are waiting for evidence of their brutal beatings to subside. The accused are routinely denied access to their lawyers, families, food and medical attention. When brought to court, cowed magistrates remand them in custody over and over again – consigning them back to filthy, stinking, over crowded jails where raw sewage runs in the corridors and the drinking water is foul and contaminated. This week, death lists are circulating with names of journalists on them (myself and Gift Phiri among them), purportedly on the letterheads of the Central Intelligence Organisation and mentioning the president’s office. Whether genuine or an elaborate hoax, the message is the same – freedom of expression in Zimbabwe is dead, any attempt at freedom of the press is punishable by death.
The author, Wilf Mbanga, founded the Daily News and is the founder and current editor of the Zimbabwean. Wilf agreed to this piece being reproduced on Media Helping Media (MHM). The article first appeared on the Index On Censorship site.
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