T he political and economic environment in Zimbabwe is generally hostile to free enterprise and media freedom. Media freedom is increasingly shrinking as it is under enormous pressure to deviate from its watchdog role over the Government and public institutions. The media is choking under a pervasive climate of political repression. In recent years both the public and private media in Zimbabwe have been struggling to ward off political and economic pressures being systematically exerted on them. The Government has a formidable and lethal arsenal against the media in the form of an array of suppressive laws which include Access to Information and Protection of Privacy Act (AIPPA), Public Order and Security Act (POSA), Interception of Communications Act, Criminal Law (Codification and Reform) Act, Broadcasting Services Act (BSA) and Official Secrets Act (OSA). There is also other restrictive legislation on anti-terrorism, defamation, both civil and criminal, libel and penal codes. While the public media has in recent years been under intensifying pressure from sustained political interference and manipulation, the private press has been subjected to fierce attacks and harassment from the Government. The President has been made to appear like a largerthan-life character via hagiographical journalism by the state-controlled media. The private press is accused of being “agents of imperialism, sell-outs and enemies of the state” in a bid to undermine their credibility and to justify their media repression. An Orwellian situation has been created in Zimbabwe, an attitude and policy of mind control. An all-controlling “Big Brother” state has emerged in the process. The Government’s thought police uncover and punish thought-crime. The private media is the main target of the thought police and has been charged with endless thought-crimes. The year 2007 opened with a storm of controversy over media tycoon Trevor Ncube’s citizenship after the Government claimed he was a Zambian by descent. It appeared that the entire issue was designed to withdraw Ncube’s citizenship and close down his newspapers, the Zimbabwe Independent and Standard, which are sharply critical of the Government. But Ncube won his case. However, during the controversy President Robert Mugabe’s spokesman, George Charamba, in his column in the state-run daily Herald ‘Nathaniel Manheru’, which he writes under a pseudonym, issued threats to Ncube’s papers and seemed to be celebrating prematurely the anticipated closure. Official verbal assaults have apparently triggered physical attacks on journalists in some cases. In fact, the crackdown against the private media heightened. There were numerous cases of arrests, harassment and even murder. Journalists have been beaten up, jailed and hauled before the courts, media premises bombed, copies of newspapers – which the Government calls the “hostile press” – unlawfully blocked from reaching certain parts of the country, mostly rural areas dominated by the ruling party. Freelance cameraperson and former ZBC employee, Edward Chikomba, was killed in March 2007 by unknown assailants, suspected to be Government agents. Chikomba’s murder was linked to the footage of the brutal assaults in police custody on 11 March 2007 of opposition MDC leaders broadcast around the globe by international TV channels. It was claimed Chikomba had supplied the footage. ZimOnline Editor Abel Mutsakani was shot in Johannesburg, South Africa, by three unknown assailants, although the motive of the attack was not known. Gift Phiri of The Zimbabwean, was badly assaulted in police custody. Other harassed journalists include freelancers Herbert Chikosi, Nunurai Jena, Tendai Musiyazviriyo and Frank Chikowore, photojournalists Tsvangirai Mukwazhi and Boldwill Hungwe, e-TV reporter Peter Moyo, Bill Saidi and Godfrey Mutimba of the Standard, Andrew Neshamba from ZBC, Bright Chibvuri of The Worker and international correspondents Jan So This Is Democracy? 2007 -124- Media Institute of Southern Africa