Other cases involved the assault of Zimbabwe Independent reporter Herbert Moyo and the detention and
harassment of Mashudu Netsiada, a senior reporter with the state-run Chronicle, by MDC-T supporters
and security personnel respectively.
Bernard Mapwanyire, a reporter with The Mirror in Masvingo, was allegedly subjected to similar
harassment and threats by MDC-T ‘bouncers’ on 8 June 2013 while covering the party’s primary elections.
On 18 June 2013, Emmanuel Mhorombe a vendor with Newsday, was reportedly threatened with
unspecified action by suspected Zanu PF youths at Alpha Media Holdings’ news stand in Harare’s
populous suburb of Mbare. The youths are said to have also confiscated 40 copies of the newspaper.
Journalists Wendy Muperi and Wonai Masvingise of the Daily News and Newsday respectively, were
harassed and detained by security personnel at the Zanu PF Headquarters in Harare on 21 June 2013.
Ironically, no arrests have been made following these incidents which come on the freshness of the
endorsement and signing into law of the new Zimbabwean constitution which now exclusively guarantees
media freedom as well as citizens’ right to access to information.
The police should deal firmly with these wanton acts of lawlessness which pose great risk to the lives of
journalists, media workers as well as their families.
Supporters of political parties should be educated that their actions constitute serious violations of
journalists’ constitutional right to media freedom and citizens’ right to freedom of expression and access to
information.
On the other hand, political leaders should guard against making inflammatory statements that incite and
excite their supporters to take the law into their own hands thus tarnishing the images of their respective
parties and that of Zimbabwe.
v Access to Information/Freedom of Expression
Access to information is a fundamental component of freedom of expression critical to citizens making
informed choices as well as holding accountable the Executive and any other public institutions for that
matter.
The observation by the Supreme Court in October 2013 that Section 31 (a) iii of the Criminal Law
(Codification and Reform) Act which criminalises publishing or communicating false statements prejudicial
to the state, is in violation of the Constitution, could thus be a pointer to the repealing of that provision.
Although the Supreme Court made the observation in terms of the old constitution’s section 20 (1), it is trite
to note that Section 61 of the new supreme law now explicitly guarantees freedom of expression and media
freedom.
The Supreme Court’s observation followed an appeal by Zimbabwe Independent journalists Constantine
Chimakure and Vincent Kahiya, and artist Owen Maseko, who had been charged under the Criminal Code.

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