• ALERT Date: June 3, 2008 Person: Howard Nicholas Burditt Violation/issue: Sentenced Howard Nicholas Burditt, a photographer with Reuters news agency who was convicted on his own guilty plea of contravening Section 27(1) of the Broadcasting Services Act (BSA), was on June 3 sentenced to pay a fine of $20 billion (US$28). Harare Magistrate Archie Wochionga also suspended a two-month prison sentence on condition that Burditt did not contravene the BSA within the next five years. His satellite phone was forfeited by the state. • ALERT Date: June 4, 2008 Person/institutions: Robson Mhandu, Lawrence Maphosa, Patrice Makova, Sibonginkosi Mlilo, Monica Gavera and reporters Brian Paradza, Robert Tapfumaneyi and Garikai Chaunza Violation/issue: Other Eight Zimbabwe Broadcasting Corporations (ZBC) employees have been summarily sent on paid vacation leave for two months, as indicated by letters written to them in the last three days by the head of human resources, Benania Shumba. The eight include senior employees at the state broadcaster: Robson Mhandu (television production general manager), Lawrence Maphosa (television production manager), Patrice Makova (news editor), Sibonginkosi Mlilo (executive producer, Nhau/Indaba), Monica Gavera (executive producer – national language) and reporters Brian Paradza (business correspondent), Robert Tapfumaneyi and Garikai Chaunza. In a letter viewed by MISA Zimbabwe one of the allegations levelled against some of the journalists is that they were “acting in a manner inconsistent with the fulfilment of the implied conditions” of their contracts. MISA Zimbabwe expressed its gravest concern over what can reasonably be perceived as the deliberate purging of journalists at the state broadcaster for the purposes of partisan political expediency on the part of those who are still in charge of the state media. Furthermore, MISA Zimbabwe noted that in the face of a presidential election run-off, this deliberate purging of media personnel at the ZBC can only be construed as being part of an orchestrated campaign to intimidate, not only state media personnel, but the Zimbabwean media fraternity as a whole. June 16, 2008: Six suspended Zimbabwe Broadcasting Corporation (ZBC) journalists have lodged appeals with the Labour Court challenging their suspensions as illegal. Patrice Makova, Sibonginkosi Mlilo, Brian Paradza, Robert Tapfumaneyi, Garikai Chaunza and Monica Gavela in papers state that their suspension is not only “dubious but illegal”. Part of their urgent chamber application reads: “It is unheard of in terms of our law a concept of forced leave, which envisages a suspension. Clearly if the vacation leave is a legitimate one, it should be by consent.” The journalists allege that they were forced to go on “paid vacation leave” shortly after the appointment as acting chief executive officer of Happison Muchechetere, adding that they should be reinstated on full salaries and benefits as a matter of urgency. The suspensions came barely a month after the dismissal of chief executive officer Henry Muradzikwa on May 14 for defying ministerial orders to deny the opposition Movement of Democratic Change (MDC) favourable coverage in the run-up to the March 29 elections. • ALERT Date: June 8, 2008 Person/institutions: Abel Chikomo, Maureen Kademaunga and Abel Kaingidza So This Is Democracy? 2008 -145- Media Institute of Southern Africa