(g) to circulate reports and materials he prepared under his signature, under a pseudonym
or without any signature.
79 Accreditation of journalists
(1) No journalist shall exercise the rights provided in section seventy-eight in Zimbabwe
without being accredited by the Commission.
(2) Subject to subsection (4), no journalist shall be accredited who is not a citizen of
Zimbabwe, or is not regarded as permanently resident in Zimbabwe by virtue of the
Immigration Act [Chapter 4:02].
(3) Any person who wishes to be accredited as a journalist shall make an application to the
Commission in the form and manner and accompanied by the fee, if any, prescribed:
Provided that a mass media service or news agency may file an application for accreditation
on behalf of journalists employed by such mass media service or news agency.
(4) A journalist who is not a citizen of Zimbabwe, or is not regarded as permanently
resident in Zimbabwe by virtue of the Immigration Act [Chapter 4:02], may be accredited for a
limited period.
(5) The Commission may accredit an applicant as a journalist and issue a press card to the
applicant if it is satisfied that the applicant—
(a) has complied with the prescribed formalities; and
(b) possesses the prescribed qualifications; and
(c) is not disqualified by virtue of subsection (2), or applies for accreditation in terms of
subsection (4).
(6) Every news agency that operates in Zimbabwe, whether domiciled inside or outside
Zimbabwe, shall in respect of its local operations not employ or use the services of any
journalist other than an accredited journalist who is a citizen of Zimbabwe, or is regarded as
permanently resident in Zimbabwe by virtue of the Immigration Act [Chapter 4:02]:
Provided that the news agency may employ or use the services of a journalist referred to in
subsection (4) for the duration of that journalist’s accreditation.
80 Abuse of journalistic privilege
(1) A journalist shall be deemed to have abused his journalistic privilege and committed an
offence if he does the following—
(a) falsifies or fabricates information;
(b) publishes falsehoods;
(c) except where he is a freelance journalist, collects and disseminates information on
behalf of a person other than the mass media service that employs him without the
permission of his employer;
(d) contravenes any of the provisions of this Act.
(2) A person who contravenes subparagraphs (a) to (d) of section (1) shall be guilty of an
offence and liable to a fine not exceeding one hundred thousand dollars or to imprisonment for a
period not exceeding two years.

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