whereabouts where still unknown at the time of print, raising fears about her safety and well being. MAZ demanded that Police and other security bodies shed light on the circumstances surrounding her disappearance. MAZ expressed concern over the continued harassment of journalists and civic society activists, stating that this runs contrary to the spirit of the on-going power sharing talks and the Global Political Agreement (GPA). “We urge all political parties to the agreement and the guarantors such as the SADC and AU to immediately get to the bottom of the matter concerning Jestina Mukoko,” said MAZ. MAZ consists of the Zimbabwe Union of Journalists, MISA Zimbabwe, the Federation of Africa Media Women - Zimbabwe, the Zimbabwe National Editors’ Forum, the Media Monitoring Project of Zimbabwe and the Zimbabwe Association of Community Radio Stations. December 18, 2008: Lawyers representing freelance journalist Shadrack Manyere, who has been missing since December 13, said they would file an urgent High Court application seeking an order for the Police to establish his whereabouts and bring him before the courts. Manyere’s lawyer Alec Muchadehama told MISA Zimbabwe they expected to file the application before the end of the day on December 18. Manyere reportedly went missing after he had taken his vehicle to a garage in Norton, about 40km west of Harare on December 13. According to his lawyers the Police visited his home in Harare’s suburb of Westgate with a search warrant on December 14 and ransacked his house, confiscating a laptop, video camera and tapes. December 24, 2008: Jestina Mukoko, the director of the Zimbabwe Peace Project who had been missing since December 3, eventually appeared before the Harare Magistrates Courts on December 24, ending growing concern about her whereabouts and safety. Mukoko appeared together with freelance photojournalist Shadreck Manyere and other co-accused on charges of treason allegedly arising from recruiting people for banditry training to overthrow the government. Manyere reportedly went missing after he had taken his vehicle to a garage in Norton about 40km west of Harare on December 13 until his appearance in court on December 24. Mukoko’s appearance in court has, however, opened a series of legal battles to secure her release after she was denied bail. Her lawyers appealed to the High Court where Justice Omerjee ordered her release on remand but the state challenged his decision through an appeal to the Supreme Court. • ALERT Date: December 9, 2008 Person/institutions: John Nyashanu and others Violation/issue: Harassed John Nyashanu, a correspondent with the South African Broadcasting Corporation (SABC), and three others suspected to be his colleagues were on December 3 picked up by riot Police in Harare and taken to the Harare Central Police Station where they were questioned and released without charges. Nyashanu told MISA Zimbabwe that the Police wanted to verify their identities as journalists. Nyashanu is an accredited journalist in terms of the Access to Information and Protection of Privacy Act (AIPPA). The Police still took him to Harare Central despite the production of his accreditation card saying they wanted more information. The crew was covering protests organised by the Zimbabwe Congress of Trade Unions (ZCTU). • ALERT Date: December 15, 2008 Person/institutions: Journalists/foreign media organisations Violation/issue: Threatened The Permanent Secretary for Information and Publicity, George Charamba, threatened to ban So This Is Democracy? 2008 -151- Media Institute of Southern Africa