MISA Zimbabwe is, however, happy to report that no journalists were arrested in terms of this law in the context of the 2023 harmonised elections. RECOMMENDATION MISA Zimbabwe Way Forward Post-2023 Zimbabwe Elections These provisions unnecessarily portray Zimbabwe negatively and must be given sufficient attention considering the existing constitutional court order which struck off criminal defamation. ACCREDITATION OF JOURNALISTS Both local and foreign journalists faced challenges in being accredited by the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (ZEC) amid reports that some journalists were only duly accredited a few days from the election day on 23 August 2023. Regrettably, three Kenyan journalists, Duncan Khaemba, Chris Omulando and their cameraman from the Nation Media Group, who were accredited to report on Zimbabwe’s election, had their equipment seized by authorities at the Robert Gabriel Mugabe International Airport upon arrival. Despite being cleared by the Ministry of Information, Publicity and Broadcasting Services, the three were told they could only enter the country with their equipment if they paid a deposit equivalent to half the purchasing price of the broadcasting equipment. They complied with the dual accreditation process and got the accreditation by the Zimbabwe Media Commission (ZMC) and the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (ZEC). Furthermore, they were told they needed further accreditation from the Broadcasting Authority of Zimbabwe. They left their equipment at the airport, assuming they would collect it when leaving Zimbabwe. However, they were to experience further unexplained delays in having their equipment returned to them as they exited the country. Due to this, they could not effectively report on the election, as they had to borrow equipment from local journalists, a less-than-ideal way of operating. RECOMMENDATION The issue of dual accreditation, wherein media practitioners accredited with the Zimbabwe Media Commission (ZMC) are requested to be accredited again with the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission for purposes of covering elections, remains of concern to MISA Zimbabwe. The ZMC-issued accreditation card should suffice for media practitioners in Zimbabwe working for local and foreign media houses to undertake their professional work on election reporting. Should there be a need for a separate and ZEC-specific accreditation, that accreditation should be 7